From a New World to a Nightmare
by TheMouseOfAwesomeness
Summary: When an adventurous 12 year old gets pulled into the fantasy world of Middle-Earth, she finds herself in the midst of new dangers and threats. Even with the help of her new friends, will she be able to defeat these evils and make it home alive?
1. Chapter 1: How Not to Live a Normal Life

**From a New World to a Nightmare**

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><p><strong>Disclaimer: <strong>LOTR is not mine and I'm not JRR Tolkien, but a few characters do belong to me

**Author's Note:** This is my first fanfiction, so feel free to give helpful advice. Hope you enjoy :)

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><p>Imagine that you have stumbled(or transported) into a new world that you have always dreamed of living in. Everything there is exactly what you have wanted it to be. From the living trees of the magical forests to the gleaming gold beneath the mountains, everything is just as good as you have read in those fantasy books. Sounds nice, right?<p>

Wrong.

When an adventurous 12-year-old somehow gets transported to the fantasy land of Middle-Earth that was thought to be just a fiction story, she finds herself in the middle of all sorts of dangers and evils. Now she must not only concentrate on getting home, but also preventing these various new evils from taking over Middle-Earth. Will she be able to survive?

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><p><strong>Chapter One: How Not to Live a Normal Life<strong>

"Great. A heavy amount of homework, band concert and piano recital tomorrow, martial arts tournament coming up, and an addition of two art contests. Not bad at all. Totally not busy."

"Get rid of that tone already, Kels. Anyone could tell that you are being sarcastic," Sunny commented.

"That's cause you don't know how it's like to have five classes," Kelsie retorted. Secretly, she was glad that she was so gifted in arts and music. Though her classes did take up a good amount of her schedule, it was definitely worth it.

Half shy and half outgoing, Kelsie was known just for her artistic skills, nothing else. Her classmates saw her as a shy, quiet artist. Her friends saw her as a bright, creative artist. This pretty much defined her personality. Or more like her personalities.

When around people she wasn't very familiar with, she was a quiet, secretive, and mysterious. She would gain information and judge other peoples' personalities by eavesdropping and pretending not to pay attention, which made her a good spy in the shadows. She wouldn't dare venture out to talk to other people, for the fear that she would stutter and make a bad first impression. If someone was to talk to her, hoping to strike up a friendly conversation, she would test them with questions and answers. After all, she was one of those people who only got along with certain types of people. That way, only few would dare to find out who she really was.

Some would think it was evil that was lurking within that quiet, secretive, and mysterious personality. But no, it was the complete opposite. Kelsie was the most likely, out the friends who actually knew her well, to tell the jokes, or start the parties(even if they didn't end too neatly). She was bright and cheerful, always energetic and ready for adventure, but also a little stubborn and competitive. This was the personality she would have preferred if she were to choose between the two.

Now, she and her friends, Sunny, Julie, and Alice were heading home from an exhausting day of school. Like usual, they were loaded with tons of homework, which meant that they wouldn't have much time to chat, unless they were to get late assignments.

"I was kind of thinking we could go to the park to do homework," suggested Kelsie. "I don't think I've been there for a long time. Besides, I'm starting to miss all the trees and plants that grow there." This was half true and half false. She had been waiting to go to the park for a long, long, long time.

"I know, right?" agreed Julie. "Nature is so refreshing."

"Hey, Kels, I'll race you there," said Sunny, who, like Kelsie, was also competitive and energetic.

Kelsie smirked. This was going to be easy. She always won contests against Sunny.

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><p>Anyone could easily figure out how to get to the park. I mean, who wouldn't know where to go if there are signs posted everywhere?<p>

The park was just a little up ahead. Kelsie urged herself to go faster, even though there was no need for it. Sunny was already several yards behind and panting hard, and yet, she was still determined. Although Kelsie had beat her many times, Sunny had always stayed cheerful and persistent.

Skidding to a stop on the grass, Kelsie dug through her backpack(aka the bag of dangerous objects), trying to find her homework and avoid getting stabbed by pencils, for if there was one main purpose for her backpack other than school, it would be art materials and sketchbooks. "Hmm...here's the forty problems of math torture...horrible story that I wrote...weird drawing for homework which I must have put ten percent effort in"-she pulled out a crumbled piece of paper with pencil marks smeared all over it-"...and five pages of science questions." She gathered all her homework into a large pile and started working on her Algebra homework.

Meanwhile, Julie and had caught up with them and were arguing about who would take home their social studies project. Sunny, like always, put watching Anime first before homework.

So basically, Kelsie was the first and only to get her homework done.

Rummaging through her unrecognizably messy backpack, she found the book that she had been reading for the past several days: Lord of the Rings by JRR Tolkien. She had found the story deeply engaging and had spent any free time she had in class reading it. Sometimes, she even got in slight trouble for reading and not paying attention.

Though Kelsie knew the story was fiction, she would often wonder what it would be like to live in Middle-Earth. To experience magic, to fight battles and become a hero. She would usually compare Middle-Earth to the world she was currently in, noting similarities and differences(there were more differences than similarities).

"I wish I lived in Middle-Earth," she mumbled to nobody in particular, as she sat down underneath a large tree to read her book.

Suddenly, a pinecone struck her head hard. Rubbing her head, she groaned and looked up to see Alice and Julie with armfuls of pinecones, standing on either side of her.

"Sorry, Kelsie, I was trying to get Alice, but you know how bad my aim is," confessed Julie.

Kelsie raised an eyebrow. "Can't you guys find something better to do than...throw pinecones at each other?"

"It's a contest where the loser has to take the social studies project home," explained Alice. "First to get hit loses."

"In that case, it would be me, but sadly, I'm not involved in this contest, so too bad." Kelsie picked up the pinecone that hit her and randomly threw it back to Julie. "You're welcome!"

Now Kelsie had not intended to hit Julie, she just wanted to toss the pinecone back to her, but a thump and a yelp followed by roaring laughter made her look up. The pinecone had hit Julie on the head before she could react, and Alice took that as an out.

"I'll get you back for this, Kelsie!" she managed to yell, before she ran after Alice, pelting her with pinecones.

Kelsie watched them and snickered. Those two were always random and crazy. Yet, they could not be compared to her, when she was in one of her crazy moods. Somehow, she just happened to be calm today. Perhaps it was because she was thinking too much about her musical performances, art contests, and martial arts tournament.

Remembering her performances and competitions made her realize that she should be getting home to practice, instead of waiting out here where pinecones were a big threat. _But I already practiced a lot. I'm sure I'll do well. Besides, worrying will only make things worse. I just need to relax and take a break. _

Having a voice in her really did the trick.

Kelsie sat back down(she had jumped up when she remembered), and opened her book to the bookmarked page. Just as she was about to read...

"Kelsie! Want to watch Anime with me?"

Kelsie silently gritted her teeth. "Sorry, Sunny, I'm kinda busy trying to read right now."

"Okay, but you have to promise that you will watch Anime with me after you're done reading."

Kelsie tried hard not to facepalm. "Fine, I promise." If she didn't agree, then Sunny would keep bugging her until she had to run away.

Finally, her attention went back to the book and she started reading.

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><p>It had been more than an hour and thirty minutes when Julie and Alice had finished their homework. Sunny had decided to do hers at home, since she had used up her Anime watching time in the park.<p>

Alice glanced at Kelsie, who was still reading silently, then tapped Julie. "I think it's time we surprised her."

"How?"asked Julie. "You know that if we do anything to annoy her, we'll have to run fast."

"Exactly. So we need to think of a prank that will surprise her so much that she won't be able to catch us," said Alice, grinning mischieviously.

And with that, Julie started talking about her plan a little too loudly, receiving a slap from Alice whenever she got too loud(which was once every five seconds).

Since her face was hidden behind the book, nobody could see Kelsie's expression. Kelsie had heard almost every word Julie said, and was trying to keep herself from overdoing her evil smirk, which she did when she know something that no one else knew.

In a situation like this, she would normally think of a counter-prank to prevent herself from getting fooled and at the same time, reverse the prank on her friends. However, this time, she decided that she would let Julie and Alice get away with it, just to be nice. All she had to do was pretend to be surprised. She turned another page of the book.

Her expression immediately turned to shock.

The next page was _blank_.

_No! The story can't possibly end here!__ There's got to be a mistake._

But there was no mistake. The nest page was also blank, so was the page after that, and so on. Kelsie flipped through the rest of the book quickly. Each page was blank. There was not a single word on any of them.

Until the last page.

Narrowing her eyes, Kelsie saw tiny words at the bottom-right corner of the page. She brought the book closer and narrowed her eyes even more. Reading them closely, word by word, she could make out a poem:

**_To join the adventure, you must do_**

**_Though not all your wishes will come true_**

**_Do what you must, if you're to survive_**

**_For there's no promise that you'll come back alive_**

Huh? What did that mean? Join what adventure? Kelsie stared at the tiny words, reading them over again. Usually, she would have been able to figure out the poem immediately, but this time, her mind couldn't function that well. It was the last part that frightened her. Did this mean that she was going to die?

Suddenly, the book started to glow. Kelsie jerked her hand away from it. _Okay. This is going way beyond normal. _She didn't dare shout out loud or make any big movements for the fear that things might get worse. She did try to scoot away from the glowing book, but it was limited by the tree behind her.

Curiosity soon overtook fear. Kelsie glanced quickly at her friends. Julie and Alice were still working on their plan, and Sunny wasn't done watching Anime. Sure that nobody was watching her, she quietly and slowly edged back to the book.

She took a deep breath and touched the glowing book with her right hand.

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><p>Julie and Alice were finally done with their plan. Grinning mischieviously, they gathered their "props" and started to make their way around the small clearing. Then, they stopped in their tracks.<p>

Kelsie was gone.

In her place was the book she had been reading just moments ago.


	2. Chapter 2: A New World

**Chapter 2: The New World**

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><p>Kelsie slowly opened her eyes.<p>

She couldn't exactly remember what had happened. All she felt at that moment was dizziness and confusion. Her mind felt like it was blocked by some unknown force.

After the dizziness had gone, she was able to slowly and gingerly get to her feet. As she did, she felt something softly bump against her left leg. She looked down and gasped, all confusion gone from her mind.

Dangling from the sturdy leather belt she now wore was a sword. Its scabbard and its handle was decorated with detailed, wavy curves , which she recognized as elvish designs. Attached to her right leg was a quiver full of arrows. On her back was a long, slender bow.

Not only had Kelsie somehow gained these new weapons, she was also wearing different clothes than the jacket, t-shirt, and jeans she was wearing just a moment ago.

In the place of her jacket was a light, soft forest-green vest with a hood that went halfway down her upper leg. Beneath it was a greenish-brown long-sleeved "dress" that went all the way down to her knees. She noticed that the bottom half was opened at both sides so that she could move freely. Covering her legs were dark-green leggings. In the place of her sneakers were a pair of thin brown boots that went halfway up her lower leg. Clasped around her waist was the brown belt which her sword was attached to. As she looked closer, she noticed more elvish designs embedded in the leather.

Knowing that there was something strange going on, Kelsie decided to save the panic for later and look at her surroundings instead.

She was surrounded by large trees with rough barks. These were not the same trees she had seen in the park - they had a slight, mystical feel to them. She was in a whole forest filled with them. Looking around, she spotted a small pond nearby. Hoping to find more answers to where she was, she walked over and looked at her reflection.

There was an elf looking back at her.

She blinked once.

So did the elf.

She tilted her head to the side.

So did the elf.

It hit her not physically, but mentally. She _was _the elf. Reaching up, she could locate both of her ears - they were pointed. With wide eyes full of shock, she turned away from the pond, then turned back. Her reflection had also come back. This time, she decided to see if she could spot more differences between her new look and her old look.

Her eyes were the obvious difference. They had turned from dark-brown to a pale grayish-blue. She noticed that her skin had also turned lighter and paler. Her brownish-black hair had grown longer and turned into a shade of dark auburn. The front was pulled back with golden clips to ensure that it didn't get in the way(like it always did), and there was a long braid running down the back of her hair. She had to admit, she did look a lot better than she did before.

Kelsie sat down, not being able to believe what had happened. New clothes? New weapons? New surroundings? No longer a human but an elf? She gathered all these facts, put them together, and came up with only one possible solution.

She was in Middle-Earth.

Kelsie shook her head, not daring to believe it. How could Middle-Earth possibly exist? There was no possible way to enter a world that didn't exist.

Just then, she started to remember what had happened before she got here. She was at the park with her friends. She had finished her homework first, then took out the book to read. Kelsie remembered her shock when she saw the blank pages. Then the glowing book. And the poem.

_The poem! _Now she understood what the poem meant. She was to be transported to this world, to join the adventure. She had to learn to survive in this world - otherwise, she wouldn't make it home alive.

Although much of it had come clear to her, there were some parts she didn't get. First of all, what adventure was she supposed to join? She had already read past the part where the ring was casted into the fire and Sauron was defeated. Shouldn't the adventure be complete already?

And besides, even if she did complete the adventure, how was she supposed to return to her own world? She thought about the glowing book, but unfortunately, the book had not accompanied her into this world.

_Maybe I should stop worrying and instead, start planning on how to survive_, she thought. She had no home, no food, no friends, and no family.

_So much for __living in a world I've always wanted to live in._

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><p>Kelsie ran soundlessly through the forest.<p>

A plan for survival was already forming in her head. She knew that she would need to be able to protect herself from danger. The only way she would be able to do this was through training. And the forest seemed like a great place for it.

As she ran through the trees and jumped over their roots, she could easily detect her new elven abilities at work. Unlike most humans, she was able to run lightly and jump farther. She could also quickly dodge the trees, due to her elven reflexes.

Kelsie ran until she had come back to the place she started. Then, she skidded to a halt. She stopped to take a break, but soon realized that there wasn't any need to, since she was now an elf and didn't tire easily. Still, she preferred breaks to long continuous runs.

She slumped against a tree, wishing she had her 'famous' sketchbook with her. "If only I were back in my world," she wondered out loud. She looked at the scenery around her. "Well, here I am, in Middle-Earth, where I've always wanted to live in. Despite the fact that I have no family, friends, or home." She glanced around, certain that nobody else was near. "Good. I don't need anyone from this world knowing my secret."

She stood up and stepped away from the tree. "Now I should practice how to climb trees." Just as she was about to start, something strange caught her attention.

The tree had eyes.

"Ah!" Kelsie jumped back, startled. She didn't know what frightened her more - a tree knowing her secret, or a tree that had eyes. However, even as she started to ponder this, something even more incredible happened.

The tree started to unravel itself from the ground. The large branches could now clearly be seen as arms. The tree roots were pulled up from the ground, rising to take the form of legs. At its full height, it stood at least three times taller than Kelsie. And all this time, it had been keeping both eyes on her.

Kelsie nervously backed away. She had momentarily forgotten everything she read in the book, due to her shock. How was she supposed to act to make a good first impression, and prevent any harm from coming her way? She looked up at the tall tree, trying her best to look harmless and non-threatening, which she wasn't very good at.

The tree's eyes stared at her for a while, then relaxed, confident that the elf(or former human) meant no harm. He walked to a stop in front of the small figure and spoke in a low rumbling voice. "What brings you to the forest of Fangorn, young elf?"

_The forest of Fangorn!_ Now Kelsie could remember the description of the forest and the Ents that lived there. "N-Nothing important. Just v-visiting,"she stammered, disappointed in the way her words came out.

The Ent seemed to notice the nervous stutter in her voice. "There is no need to fear me," he said, reassuringly. "You are in my forest, under my protection."

Kelsie nodded, not sure what to say. She always failed at introductions.

"You may call me Treebeard," said the Ent. "Tell me, what do you prefer to be known by?"

"My name is...Kelsie," she answered. She knew that it was not an elvish name, but what else could she say?

Treebeard considered it for a moment before answering. "Sounds like a unique name."

"Thank you," Kelsie answered timidly. Then, she started to relax. Maybe she could strike up a conversation, now that she had made an okay impression. At least she could gain a friend. "I've been to lots of places as a wanderer, but I must say that your forest definitely suits me the most."

Treebeard seemed to find this even more interesting. "I am glad my forest suits you well, although I find that quite rare. Many do not dare to venture here, for they fear the Ents that live here."

"Well, then they're greatly mistaken," said Kelsie. "I don't see anything bad about your forest." Then, another question popped into her head. "Do you mind if I could stay here for a night, since I have nowhere else to go?"

"Not quite easy being a wanderer, I suppose," said the Ent. "Of course you may stay here."

"Thanks for letting me stay overnight," said Kelsie, glad that she would have at least a night to live. "It's not easy traveling a long way from home."

"By the looks of it, you must come from Mirkwood, am I correct?"

"Correct," she answered, knowing she had to make up a story.

"Wanderers from Mirkwood aren't very common, I must say. You must have quite the heart for adventure, especially for an elfling of your age."

"I always thought I was old for an elfling."

Treebeard laughed softly. "Either way, you've still got a long, immortal life ahead of you."

Kelsie wondered what he would have said if she _wasn't_ an elf. "If I can survive my adventures, of course." _Which I most likely won't, _she added silently.

"You'll find there's a lot more adventure to this world than you think," Treebeard said. "I've never been on any big adventure, since I am content with my forest."

"I haven't either. This is my first big adventure and it will probably be my only one."

"A big adventure consists of many small adventures," said Treebeard, wisely. "There will be something good in every adventure."

Kelsie nodded. "I'll try to remember that."

"You should probably get some rest now," suggested Treebeard. "You've got a long way ahead of you." And with that, he started to kneel down, his legs folding underneath him and into the soil. His arms turned back into branches. Soon, he looked no different from a regular tree.

Kelsie let out the breath she had been holding. _Thankfully he hasn't found out. _She had been worried that he had heard her muttering about 'not needing anyone in this world knowing my secret'.

"Now what?" she said out loud. "What should I do now?"

She looked up at the sky. Judging by the position of the sun, she decided it must be around five. "Sadly, there are no clocks in this world," she muttered.

Kelsie sat down next to the tree, her mind full of questions that needed to be answered. She still didn't get exactly what adventure she needed to complete in order to return to her home. Did she have to defeat some kind of evil? And what kind of evil will it be, and how was she supposed to defeat it?

The more she thought about home, the more she missed it. She wondered what her family and her friends were doing right now. Julie and Alice would probably be arguing over their project, and Sunny would probably still be watching Anime. Her parents would most likely be looking for her, and wondering why she wasn't home yet. "At least I don't have to attend those performances," she said in a weak attempt to raise her spirits. In truth, she would be glad to practice the piano right now.

As she was thinking, another question popped into her head.

_What if I fail to complete my quest?_

Kelsie shuddered at that dreadful thought. She knew that the answer would not be pleasant. And she wasn't willing to find out, either. _I would probably be forced to stay in this world forever. Or I might get killed in a fight._ Those were only a few possibilities.

For the rest of the day, Kelsie walked around the forest, thinking all the possible answers to her questions, and adding more questions to her list. When she had grown tired of thinking, she made her way back to the small clearing where she had met Treebeard. Since she couldn't find anything more useful to do at the moment, she took out her sword and tried to practice some of the moves she learned at her martial arts classes to get used to the feeling. Of course, she had to be extra careful, because it was her first time holding a _real_ sword. Yet, she was glad that she had at least a bit of training to back her up during real fights, even if it didn't help as much.

The sky was getting darker and night was falling fast, when Kelsie put her sword back into her scabbard. Content with her training for the day, she sat down underneath the same tree and leaned against its trunk. She wasn't actually tired, but like Treebeard said, she would need to get prepared for what was ahead of her. So, she closed her eyes and tried to fall asleep.

After several long minutes, she was forced to open her eyes. Why couldn't she fall asleep? Or maybe elves slept a different way, she thought. Kelsie traced her memory until it came to a stop at the book. Then, she remembered. She wasn't supposed to sleep with her eyes closed - she had to leave them open and unfocused.

Groaning, she shifted into a more comfortable position. She relaxed against the trunk of the tree and put her hands behind her head and crossed her legs. Then, remembering that she was in Middle-Earth, not Earth, she put her hands across her stomach, but she still didn't uncross her legs.

It was like falling into a highly realistic daydream. Soon, her elven eyes turned hazy and unfocused, and most of her thoughts were dismissed from her mind. However, one thought remained. It was the summary of all her other thoughts.

_So much for living in a world I've always wanted to live in._

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><p><strong>AN:** So there's the second chapter. Sorry if you find the first two chapters boring(I kinda did). But there will be more excitement and action in the next chapter.


	3. Chapter 3: Beginner's Luck

**Author's Notes:** I'd like to thank all who read and enjoyed this story so far, especially those who reviewed. You have all been very supportive and kind, and that encourages me a lot. Keep those reviews coming!

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><p><strong>Chapter 3: Beginner's Luck<strong>

_I listened to Julie and Alice's plan with a smirk on my face. Of course it was Julie who just had to spoil everything. But to be honest, I kind of like the idea of getting gummy worms dumped over my head. I guess I'll just have to wait and pretend._

_I then turned my attention back to my book. Although I was already done with most of the story, I still felt like I couldn't wait to read it. I was already past the part where Sauron was defeated for good, and the Fellowship was reunited again. It's kinda sad when friends have to leave each other after a long epic journey. Actually, I meant really sad. _

_Well, anyway, the journey was complete, and now the Fellowship was returning home or moving on to visit new places. I was especially interested to read what that elf and the dwarf would encounter in the Forest of Fangorn and learn even more about their friendship, since they are an unusual pair of friends. _

_So there I sat, reading word by word, page after page until...it all went blank. _

_I couldn't believe it! How could such a good story just end here!? I flipped through the rest of the book, hoping to find an apology note saying that the printer ran out of ink, but nope, there was no mistake. However, I did find a small note on a corner of the last page. More of a poem to be exact. But seriously, who would print a poem so small that the reader could barely see it?_

_Then, I found out that this was no apology poem - it was a matter of adventure and survival. I was to join an adventure and try to survive. _

_I didn't understand. What was I supposed to do?_

_Then the book started to glow. And obviously, my reaction was shock and curiosity(I'm not going to describe it too much). It's not like I see a glowing book everyday. I backed away a little, just to make sure I was safe. The book just stayed there, glowing._

_I knew I had to do something about this, because if I didn't, matters won't get any better. I stole a glance at my friends, hoping they didn't notice anything. The last thing I needed was for them to freak out like crazy. _

_I looked back at the book, making up my mind. I knew I had to be brave and take risks. Yet I had to be careful. So I edged back to the book, took a deep breath, and touched it with my right hand._

_It all happened so fast, I could barely see anything. The next thing I knew, I was being pulled into the book. Literally. One moment ago, I was sitting on the ground, the next moment, I was falling headfirst through the book. I could not tell what was around me, because I was falling too fast. I tried to cry for help, but no sound came out. _

_That was when I saw something. It started out as a small speck of green, growing larger and larger every second. Then, I could see the trees and the pond. _

_It was only at the last few seconds that I realized I was falling into the forest. Thinking this would be the last seconds of my life, I managed to bring my arms out to cover my head. Then, I braced myself for the impact._

_Finally, I hit the ground, and everything turned black._

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><p>Kelsie woke up with a start. She knew she must have overslept. She could already feel the light of the sun shining on her. "Oh no," Kelsie groaned. "Great. I'm late for school. Better run." She turned to grab her jacket, but it wasn't there. She blinked several times to clear the sleep away, only to realize that it was already cleared. Knowing that something was off, she looked around her room, only to find that she was in a forest.<p>

It took her a few minutes to accept the fact that she was stuck in this world, and it was not a dream. She looked around her and sighed. "Guess I'll just have to go along with the adventure," she muttered. She touched her ears to make sure they were pointed, which they were. Certain that she was going to remain an elf as long as she was here, she checked her bow, quiver, and sword to make sure they were also with her. Satisfied that nobody had stolen anything, she stood up to decide what to do next.

It was only now that Kelsie realized how thirsty she was. Being so caught up in adventuring, she had forgotten the basic needs for survival - water and food. "Could've thought of that earlier," she groaned, smacking herself on the head.

She looked over at the clean, flowing water in the pond, wondering if it was safe to drink or not. Just the sight of it made her even more thirsty than ever. Yet, she resisted the urge. She looked away and thought it over. "Okay. I have to decide," Kelsie told herself. "It's either I give it a try, or I die of thirst." She looked back at the water and made up her mind.

Kneeling down at the pond, Kelsie cupped her hands and scooped up as much water as she could. She brought it to her lips and sipped a bit.

The water was the most refreshing treat she had ever tasted. It was just the right quality and taste. Thinking back to the story, she realized that this must be the ent water. She knew that it was definitely not normal, everyday water - it was composed of magical substances that made mortals grow taller. She didn't know what it would do to immortals like her, but she didn't really care now. All she cared about at that moment was quenching her thirst.

After she was satisfied, Kelsie stood up to choose which way to go next. Since she had no idea which way was which, she closed her eyes and spun around several times. Then, after attempting to make herself dizzy(which didn't work), she stopped and opened her eyes. Unsurprisingly, she was facing a cluster of trees that had no visible path leading anywhere. _Oh well. I've promised myself I'd play fair and I will._ So, having no idea of what was ahead of her, Kelsie started her journey.

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><p>Kelsie had been walking for at least an hour now. When she had first started her journey through the forest, she had been wondering who or what she would encounter. But now, that excitement was wearing off. She had learned to never let her guard down, but at this time, she couldn't help it. She was getting quite impatient, and she wasn't sure if she could take this boredom any longer.<p>

_I wonder how long I'll have to walk to get to the edge of this forest. Better not take a whole day._ She had tried walking in different ways to get rid of her boredom. It did help a little, but it wasn't the most exciting. _Maybe__ I should start looking for danger myself, instead of waiting for something to happen, _she thought. She knew that it was a silly idea, and that she would instantly regret it, but she needed some way to show how bored she was.

It had been another twenty minutes when something finally happened. Kelsie was half walking, half skipping through the trees when she came to a stop at a devastating scene.

It was like walking through a park and finding a garbage pile next to it. All the trees in this section of the forest had been cut down, until nothing remained but stumps. There were fallen branches scattered around and dry, crumbled leaves crushed into pieces. What looked like the trunks of the trees were nothing more than piles of black, decaying matter. To the mystical, living trees, this scene looked much like a graveyard of dead, rotting trees.

Kelsie clenched her fists as she surveyed the scene. _This is all Sauron's work. And some additional thanks to his orcs, of course. I am so glad that ring is destroyed._

She nervously took a step forward. She knew that in order to resume her journey, she had to get past this graveyard.

As Kelsie walked through this section of the forest, she knew something was wrong. Besides the severed stumps and rotting trunks, there was something else lurking around. It would most likely be dangerous, or else she wouldn't have that feeling of unease. The excitement that had vanished earlier was coming back, along with a tinge of nervousness.

Suddenly, Kelsie heard a rustling sound behind her, and stopped. Slowly, she turned around, only to find nothing new. So she turned back and continued walking, but this time with more nervousness. Then, she heard it again. That same rustling sound, only that it was louder and seemed to come from right behind her. This time, she whipped around, drawing her sword out at the same time...

...and found herself face-to-face with a large, flesh-eating spider.

"Aaaah!" Kelsie stumbled backwards, keeping her sword out in front of her. _So the spider had been following me the whole time. _Even though she tried to remain calm, she couldn't stop her arms from shaking. This was the first time she had been involved in a real battle, and she had been expecting something easier, not a ten foot tall spider!

The spider advanced towards her, casting a big looming shadow upon the small elf. _This is going to be easy_, it thought. _This one probably doesn't even know how to fight. What a nice tasty meal it will make. _Then, with its beady, black eyes glinting maliciously, it pounced on its prey.

Kelsie stood there, not knowing how to react. Her mind was screaming for her to move, but her legs could not respond. It was only at the last second that she was able to jump out of the way. Thanking her elven speed, she ran behind it quickly, hoping it did not see her. Unfortunately, the spider could sense her running. It turned around quickly and spotted her. The prey was not going to escape so easily this time. It lunged at its prey, front legs extended, hoping to capture her.

This time, Kelsie decided to fight back. She could not outrun the eight-legged spider easily, and even if she did, it will eventually catch up to her once she wore out. With her heart threatening to break out, she spun around and sliced off the spiders leg, just as it was about to touch her. She had to fight the urge to drop her sword and cover her ears as the spider let out a horrifying, ear-shattering screech. Then, the spider fell limp and stopped moving.

Kelsie was stunned. _Did I just kill that spider? _She cautiously made her way to its side and poked it with her sword. There was no answer. She stayed there for a moment, wondering whether it was dead or not. Then, after waiting for long enough, she shrugged and put her sword away.

Just as she was about to leave, she heard a sound behind her. She turned around just in time to see the another leg coming straight at her. She gasped and immediately reached for her sword, but unfortunately, her fingers didn't work well and she was unable to tug it out of her sheath. She hated herself for not being more careful. _And this is how I am going to die._ With her legs unable to move(again), and her weapons unreachable in time, she put her arms over her head and braced herself for the impact.

The impact never came. Kelsie slowly looked up to see the spider reeling back in pain, an arrow sticking out of its leg. She looked to the side to see who did it.

Another elf had joined the battle. This one was a blond archer with a longbow, leaping gracefully from tree stump to tree stump. As Kelsie watched, the elf leaped off the last stump, did a flip in the air, and landed perfectly on the back of the spider. He then drew a pair of twin knives and stabbed the spider in its neck, sending it rolling onto its back, its legs flailing in the air. The blond elf leaped off its back just in time, as another figure rushed in from the opposite side.

It was a red haired/bearded dwarf holding a sturdy-looking axe in his hands. Sprinting towards the spider and shouting a battle cry, he bravely swung his axe and cut off three of the spider's legs. The spider screeched even louder, but managed to roll onto its stomach again. Then, it looked around to see who it should attack.

Unluckily, Kelsie was positioned almost directly in front of the spider, so it was her the spider decided to attack. Luckily, she had learned to be prepared ahead of time, so while the elf and the dwarf were fighting, she had used that time to put away her sword, take out her bow, and attach an arrow to it. Now, all she had to do was to aim and release her arrow, then the spider would hopefully be finished. She held the bow up so that the arrow was pointed at its head, which wasn't very hard, considering the size of the spider. Then, she drew back the arrow, surprised at how tough the string was. Finally, hoping that nobody noticed her arms shaking unsteadily, she released the arrow...which buried itself deep into the spider's eyes.

The pain was too much for the spider to bear. With four legs of its legs cut off, its neck stabbed with knives, and an arrow in its eye, it gave one last bloodcurdling screech and fell dead.

Kelsie stood there with her bow still in her hands, not daring to breathe. How had she made a shot so accurate when she had never used a bow before? Maybe she had acquired some new elven skills when she had been transported into this world.

"Are you alright?" said a light, melodious voice. Kelsie jumped slightly, having not heard the blond elf's silent approach. "Yes, I'm fine. Is the spider...dead?" she asked, remembering what had happened when she had let her guard down.

The dwarf walked over to the spider and knocked it hard with his ax. When no response came, he called, "Yes, it's quite dead, thanks to my ax-wielding skills."

The blond elf raised an eyebrow at the dwarf. "And do we get any credit?"

"Fine, you can have your credit, but I still keep most of it," the dwarf answered in his rough voice.

The elf rolled his eyes, then turned to Kelsie. "That's my good friend Gimli. You'll have to excuse him, he's not very good at crediting others."

Gimli glared at the elf. "What about all those times I credited you for killing 41 orcs at the battle of Helms Deep?

"You were using that to boast about how you beat me at that game," the elf returned calmly.

"What game?" Kelsie suddenly interfered. In truth, she had already read about their game at the battle of Helms Deep. However, since she wasn't supposed to reveal her secret, she had to act like she didn't know.

"It's a game where whoever kills more enemies wins. I'm way better than Legolas at it," said Gimli.

"Oh. Okay," said Kelsie, trying not to sound too curious. "Just wondering."

Legolas whacked Gimli on the head, then turned back to Kelsie, as if nothing happened. "So, what brings you here? It's not very common to see my own kind travel so far from home, especially a young elfling."

Kelsie did her best to stay calm. She had to think of a reasonable answer as soon as possible. An answer that was believable. However, the shy and timid side of her was starting to take over again, and she didn't have time to think of a good story. "I don't really have any specific purpose for wandering."

"So you're lost?" asked Gimli, earning himself another sharp whack to the head. He then attempted to kick Legolas, but the elf was too fast for him.

"No, not exactly. Just...wandering."

Legolas felt a tinge of sadness for the elfling. _Maybe my next goal should be to help her,_ he thought. "So you don't have anyone to go to? Where are your parents?"

Kelsie knew this question was eventually going to show up, but she didn't have any good answer for it. She paused for a moment before answering. "I don't know where they went. I couldn't find them."

Even Gimli, who was usually impatient, had stopped to listen. It wasn't unheard of that elflings would be caught wandering on their own, but it wasn't common either. He nodded and motioned for her to go on.

"And because I don't really have anything else to do, I've been wandering ever since," concluded Kelsie.

"I suppose it wasn't easy for you to be traveling alone," said Legolas.

"Of course not," said Kelsie. "I would have died if you two hadn't saved me," she added gratefully. _And right on time, too,_ she added mentally.

"You know what?" asked Legolas, making up his mind. "We'd be glad to keep you company."

Kelsie was thrilled! What she thought was going to be a lonely, tiring, confusing journey, had just turned into a more epic, and not to mention, safer adventure. At least she would have friends to keep her company, so she wouldn't die of boredom. And there would also be a bigger chance of winning battles, since Legolas and Gimli were experienced fighters, and she was not.

"S-Sure," she stuttered, trying to keep her excitement down. "I'd way rather have company, than be traveling alone. Although I'm not sure if I could help much," she admitted, recalling her poor fighting skills.

"Of course you'll be of much use," said Gimli. "I can prove to you that I am more capable of fighting than Legolas here. And if anyone asks for the results, you can name me as the winner."

Legolas narrowed his eyes challengingly. "You think? Although I have to admit that you are more capable of cheating than I am."

Kelsie followed behind them as they argued. For some reason, they strongly reminded her of her friends, Alice and Julie. How similar they were, always arguing nonstop. She also thought of all the competitions she had done with Sunny. Again, she wondered what they were doing right now. _Probably being summoned by my parents as witnesses for what happened to me. If that's the case, then I feel bad for them._

As much as she was looking forward to adventuring with her new friends, she still missed her old friends more.

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><p><strong>AN: **Longest chapter so far! It's over 1,000 more words than my first chapter!

Sadly, this also means that the next chapter will have to be shorter. However, shorter chapters may take less time, so that's a good thing. Anyway, I wonder what the group will encounter next...


	4. Chapter 4: Shadows at Night

**A/N: **Thanks to everyone who reviewed, favorited, or followed! I'm so glad that so many people enjoyed the story so far. And to those who read but didn't let me know how you felt about the story, I hope that you also leave a review so I know how you like it.

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><p><strong>C<strong>**hapter 4: Shadows at Night**

"So where are we going?" Kelsie asked her new friends as they walked back though the forest of Fangorn.

It had been several hours since Legolas and Gimli had saved her from the spider, right when it was about to kill her. Since she had nowhere specific to go, they had willingly let her join them on their travels. Kelsie was slightly nervous at first, but soon she relaxed and started to talk to them a bit more. She was actually getting along with them quite well, as she was able to start conversations and learn more about her friends, as well as letting them know a little more about herself.

"We are going to Lorien," answered Legolas. "Because that's what Gimli desires."

"I just want to get out of this forest, that's all," Gimli replied quickly. "Better than getting attacked by those giant spiders from Mirkwood."

"Why can't you just admit the fact that you enjoy staying in Lorien?" Then he suddenly turned thoughtful. "What I'd like to know is why that spider was here. I thought they only stayed within the borders of Mirkwood."

"It's probably because they smelled some elf," said Gimli.

"Or maybe it's because they smelled some dwarf," retorted Legolas.

Kelsie would have laughed at their remarks, but this time, she thought differently. Here was a chance to prove her usefulness, so she did some quick analyzing and came up with a reasonable conclusion. "Or maybe it's because they decided that Mirkwood was too dangerous for them, because they keep on getting killed by the elves, so the remaining spiders decided to leave. And since the forest of Fangorn isn't inhabited by elves, they've been lurking around for a chance to grab any victims who travel there."

Both Legolas and Gimli were stunned by her intelligence for a moment. Gimli was the first to recover. "See, Legolas? That's the kind of answer I would expect from you. But turns out you got beaten by an elfling!"

Kelsie growled at being called an elfling, then turned to Legolas and shrugged. "It was just a guess. I'm not even sure if it's correct."

"Actually, that's a very reasonable explanation. I have to say, you do possess a lot of intelligence for an elfling," admitted Legolas. Then, he realized that he had said the wrong thing, for Kelsie then growled at him for calling her an elfling.

"Well, anyway, I think we should stop here for the night," she suggested. "It is getting kind of dark."

"We are near the edge of the forest," said Legolas. "I think that if we travel quickly enough, we would be able to make it to Lorien before midnight."

"I agree with Kelsie this time," said Gimli. "First of all, I can't remember the last time I've eaten, and I'm not going to let myself starve anytime soon. And second, didn't I tell you that dwarves are not made for cross-country running?"

Legolas sighed. "I suppose you are right. Although I wish to at least make it to the edge of the forest."

"So here's the plan," said Kelsie. "We are going to travel to the edge of the forest, where we are going to spend the night. Then, tomorrow, we are going to continue to Lorien. Correct?"

"That satisfies me," Gimli agreed. "As long as there's food left."

"We'll let you eat when we get to tonight's destination," Legolas answered shortly.

So the three of them spent the rest of the day walking until they reached the edge of the forest. By that time, the sun was gone. The sky was now a shade of dark-blue to navy blue. A few stars could be seen, but most were blocked by long stretches of dark clouds. The trees were now like dark, blurry shapes to those who did not possess the keen eyesight of an elf.

Usually, at this time, Kelsie would have been unable to see clearly. However, with her elven eyesight, she was able to everything as though it was daytime, only darker. Marveling at her ability, she kept her eyes open to see if she could name everything she spotted, which she was able to do with ease. _If I had this eyesight before, I would have become the world's most famous artist a long time ago. _

"This is where we stop for the night," announced Legolas.

"I'm still waiting for something to eat," said Gimli. "Do you, by any chance, carry with you any lembas?"

Legolas groaned as he pulled out three packages of lembas. He had been trying to hide them from Gimli, for fear that the dwarf would devour them all in one meal. Now he had no choice but to reveal them to the hungry dwarf.

Gimli quickly grabbed one and opened it. "I never knew I'd develop such hunger for elven food," he admitted through mouthfuls of bread.

"Finally you admit that you enjoy elven food," said Legolas. He held out a package to Kelsie. "Do you want one?"

"Sure, thanks," said Kelsie taking the package and opening it. She bit of a small corner of the bread, tasting it to see if it really was as good as described in the book. The next thing she knew, she was cramming it all into her mouth, literally biting off more than she could chew. The lembas was the best bread she had ever tasted. The inside was sweet, and the bread was not too hard, but sturdy enough.

"You could have another one, if you like," offered Legolas. "I don't want Gimli to hog all the food." He didn't notice Gimli taking the third package of lembas with all the stealth he could muster.

"Behind you," warned Kelsie, after she had managed to swallow her mouthful. Legolas looked behind him just in time to see Gimli stuffing the last of the precious bread into his mouth.

Leaving them to their slapping contest, Kelsie found a safe spot next to a tree and sat down there with her knees drawn up. Her chance of survival had immediately gone up when she had been rescued by Legolas and Gimli. She knew that she could rely on them to help her on her journey. But still, she had a sickening feeling that she would eventually have to reveal her true identity to them. Would they still be willing to help her then? _I should gain their full trust before I reveal myself. Then, they still might be willing to help me._ Then, she wondered what she could do to gain their trust. It was not long before her chance came.

"We should go to sleep now," said Legolas. "I'll take first watch. Gimli, you can take second."

"Works for me," said Gimli. "As long as I'm awake, nobody would dare come near our camp, unless they want to be chopped by my ax."

Legolas rolled his eyes, then turned to Kelsie. "You should rest for the whole night. I don't think it's safe for you to take watch alone."

Kelsie was usually good at hiding her feelings, but this time, she let her anger rise. After all, it was part of her plan to gain their trust. "It's not like I can't do anything. And besides, I've traveled for a long time, and I was able to watch over myself. Why can't I keep guard tonight?"

Legolas was going to say that it was because she was still an elfling, but thought better of it. If she had traveled so far all by herself, then she must have been good at protecting herself. Then why couldn't she keep guard tonight? He couldn't think of a direct answer to her question. "Well...don't you want to get some rest?"

Kelsie almost wanted to give up and say yes, but she didn't let him read her thoughts. She stood still and spoke in her most confident voice. "I insist on taking watch."

Legolas sighed. "If that's really what you want, then of course you may. But if you sense any danger, do not go running after it. You have to promise to stay out of trouble. If you get attacked, you must wake us immediately so we could deal with it. Understand?"

Kelsie hated being treated like a little kid, but there was no other way. She couldn't miss her chance. "Yes, I understand," she answered.

She waited until Legolas had fallen asleep. This was a chance to prove her usefulness and she was not going to miss it. She knew that she would later have to apologize, but that didn't bother her much. They would forgive her and maybe even thank her if she did something helpful. So, for several minutes, she kept a look out for danger.

Suddenly, Kelsie saw something run past her. With a feeling that it was something bad, she pulled her sword out. She looked around to see if she could spot it, but it was already gone. She was about to put her sword away when another shadow zoomed past her. This time, she was able to tell which direction it was going. Promising herself that she would not let fear take over her, she ran after the shadow with her sword out in front of her.

Soon, Kelsie saw another shadow run past her. She skidded to a halt and hid behind a tree, hoping that it did not see her. Quietly, she managed to tuck all her hair into her hood and pull it over her head. Then, she sneaked out from behind the tree and ran silently after the shadow.

It wasn't before long that Kelsie started to feel a change in the atmosphere. It started as a small tinge of cold. But as she ran on, it grew to a freezing, numbing sensation. She came to a stop, shivering. _This cold must have something to do with the shadows. Maybe I'm getting closer to them. _Kelsie started to feel scared. But part of her told her to keep on going. After all, she did promise herself that she won't let fear take over. She tried her best to ignore the cold as she walked on.

After a while, Kelsie was forced to stop. The cold was too much to bear, and her fear was expanding faster than ever. _I should have stayed back at camp, _she thought. Now she wished that she had followed Legolas' orders. She started to go back the way she had come, but the cold had paralyzed her, making her unable to move. She narrowed her eyes and looked around for the source of the cold. That was when her fears were confirmed.

The shadows were everywhere. They swarmed all around her, making her vision turn blurry. They had no particular shape - they were evil disguised in the form of mist. Their purpose was to strike fear and cold in the hearts of their victims.

Kelsie was terrified. If she didn't act soon, then there was no way she was going to make it out of this nightmare. Her sword slipped out of her numb fingers. However, before it hit the ground, the blade grazed a shadow that was just passing by. As she watched, the shadow started to quiver, then it exploded into many small pieces that faded before her eyes.

_Aha! So that's how you destroy these shadows! Only blade can pierce them. _Now that she had figured out what she was supposed to do, she just had to get her plan into action.

Kelsie gritted her teeth and tried hard to move. At first, all she felt was the numbing cold, but after several tiring tries, she started to slowly bend down to pick up her sword. Triumphant that she was able to move, she picked up her sword. Now that she had broken free of the cold, she was able to move more and more freely.

Meanwhile, the shadows were furious that their victim had broken free. They were going to recapture her for revenge, no matter what. Confident that they were going to win this battle, they all swooped down on her.

Having seen this attack coming, Kelsie was not as surprised as expected. Gathering all the courage inside of her, she gripped her sword firmly and swung it in a full circle, knocking out the first row of shadows. Then, she ducked low as several shadows flew over her head. They tried to attack her again, but only succeeded in meeting their ends as Kelsie bravely sliced her sword through them. Then, using her quick elven reflexes, she whipped around just in time to thrust her sword through a shadow that had been creeping up behind her. She heard a whoosh right above her and quickly stepped to the side to see a shadow plummet down towards the spot she had just been in. She easily held the sword out in front of her and waited for the shadow to hit it.

Instead of hitting the sword, the shadow suddenly turned and crashed right into her. Kelsie immediately fell over, once again paralyzed with cold. However, this time she was not going to let go easily. Summoning up all her energy, she painfully forced herself to her feet. She knew that another attack was coming, and she had to be prepared. Kelsie looked up to see three more shadows coming at her from above. As they descended down on her, she swung her sword over her head, and destroyed all three of them. Then, she turned around a brought down four shadows that had been ready to attack from behind. Finally, she turned around again only to find nothing.

Kelsie scanned the whole area with her keen eyesight before she could confirm that all of the shadows were gone. She let out a sigh of relief. "Well that was quite epic," she muttered to herself. She put her sword back into her scabbard, then flopped down onto the ground. She had been so caught up in the fight that she hadn't realized how exhausted she was. So she lay on the ground for a several minutes to regain her strength.

She got up and slowly walked to the edge of the battlefield, keeping an eye on it. This experience had really shaken her. She had not expected such a fight and was obviously not looking forward to another one.

Once she had stepped out of the small clearing, she started to run back to camp as fast as she could. While she was running back to camp, she saw a shadow pass by. But she didn't care. She just wanted to get out of this nightmare. All the courage she had possessed when she fought had faded away completely.

Kelsie was more than relieved when she saw the two sleeping figures. She clumsily skidded to a stop next to them and sought out the shorter one. "Your turn, Gimli," she said, tapping him on the back. Then, too tired to care if he would wake or not, Kelsie sank to the ground and fell asleep.

Gimli stretched and woke up. "Thankfully Legolas didn't pour water over my head this time," he muttered to himself. As he walked over to the spot he would keeping guard from, something caught his eye.

He walked over to the two sleeping elves to investigate. He knew something was wrong. One of the elves slept with his eyes open and arms folded across his chest, just like all elves usually do. However the other elf slept on her side with her eyes closed and her long hair slightly tangled. Gimli frowned. Elves only slept on their side with their eyes closed if they were exhausted or injured. And wasn't Legolas supposed to be the one keeping watch? By the looks of it, it seemed as though it was the other way around.

Gimli was deeply confused. He would have to find out the answers to his questions tomorrow, once they awoke.

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><p>The wind howled and the trees trembled. A shadow emerged from its well hidden spot behind a particularly large tree. It had seen its comrades getting killed by an elf. More of an elfling to be exact. Seeing its comrades get beaten by an elfling made it more furious than ever.<p>

The shadow did not care about the death of anyone or anything. After all, it had been using its comrades to fight for itself, while it stayed hidden, out of harm's way. But now all the other shadows were dead, and it had nothing it could use to defend itself. Of course, the blame was on the elfling.

Revenge. It was the only thing it wanted now. It desperately wanted to kill the elfling. Not just paralyze her - kill her. It could summon up all its strength and freeze the elfling completely. Then, she would be paralyzed for eternity.

And soon, she would die.

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><p><strong>AN: **Well that was longer than I expected. I actually added a lot more details than I was planning to. And I literally tortured the poor elfling.


	5. Chapter 5: Lost

**Author's Notes: **Sorry about the big delay in this chapter. I was really busy this week and there were days when I couldn't work on this story at all. And I also got sick this week so I couldn't get past a paragraph without coughing. Now I'm better, but there still might be a delay in later chapters, since school is back. So don't be angry if another chapter doesn't show up for more than a week. Meanwhile, here's the next chapter...

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><p><strong>Chapter 5: Lost...<strong>

Kelsie awoke to the sound of arguing. Groaning inwardly, she tried to move to a more comfortable position. She wanted to block out the sound, but her elven hearing betrayed her. Since there was nothing else she could do, she just decided to listen to the argument, which wasn't turning out to be very pleasant.

"I thought you were supposed to be taking watch, Legolas!" said a rough voice.

It was answered by another voice filled with concern. "It was her choice, Gimli. I wanted to stop her, but she insisted on taking watch."

"But look at the state she's in!"

"Yes, I've noticed. I also wonder what happened to her last night."

"She looked like she had gotten into a fight!"

"How is that possible? I warned her to stay out of trouble!"

"What if something came and attacked her? Of course she would have to defend herself _and_ us."

"She was supposed to wake us immediately if anything attacked."

Kelsie started to feel horrible about what she had done. Now she would not only have to apologize, she would also have to face their anger. She recalled the memory of the shadows and shuddered. _Okay. Maybe apologizing won't be that bad compared to those shadows. _Still, she knew that her disobedience will cause her to lose their trust. She just hoped that they wouldn't get so angry that they'd permanently ban her from their group. Especially after she had tried so hard to gain their trust. Deciding it was time to get their attention, she tried to clear her throat, but ended up coughing madly.

Gimli jumped in surprise at her sudden outburst of coughing and tripped over a rock, but Legolas immediately rushed over. "Kelsie, are you alright?"

Kelsie tried to nod while she was coughing, but it turned out to be a very bad attempt, which made Legolas decide that she was definitely not alright. He took out a water skin, and poured several drops into her mouth. Then, he and Gimli waited until her coughing had subsided.

"Feeling better now?" asked Gimli.

Kelsie managed to nod successfully. "Much better."

"Good," said Legolas. Then, his expression changed from concerned to stern. "Now I would like to know what you were up to during your watch."

Kelsie gulped nervously. _Yup. Could've known this was going to happen. _She tried to think of the most innocent way to explain her encounter with the shadows, but like always, she couldn't think clearly when she was nervous.

"Well...I saw shadows," she said.

Legolas and Gimli glanced at each other. Shadows were obviously _not _a good sign. "What else?" inquired Gimli.

"No, nothing else, just shadows," said Kelsie.

Legolas cut in. "We'd like to know everything, whether you want to tell us or not. And I'd also like to know what would cause you to disobey the instructions I gave you before you started your watch."

Kelsie sighed. There was no way out now. They would know if she left out single thing. Hoping that her disobedience and over-adventurousness won't cause her to get into further trouble, she took a deep breath and started her story.

"I was just standing there, looking around for any signs of danger when a shadow suddenly ran by. I couldn't see it very clearly, because it went by so fast, so I just continued looking for more signs of danger. Then, another shadow ran past. This time, I could see which direction it went, so I followed it-"

At this point, Legolas interrupted. "Wait. So you decided to follow something you had no idea about, instead of alerting us about it?"

"I was just curious, okay?" Kelsie tried to act like it was just a small thing, but that did not work a bit. When neither Legolas nor Gimli said anything, she decided it was safe to continue. "So I ran in that direction for several minutes. Then, after I saw another shadow run past, I decided to be a little stealthier instead of just running out in the open.

"Soon, I started to feel a bit cold, but as I ran on, it grew to a freezing point," Kelsie shuddered as she said this. "I felt like giving up, but instead, I forced myself to keep going. However, I was soon paralyzed by the cold. And that was when I was surrounded by shadows." She paused to look up. With relief, she saw that her friends' faces not no longer portrayed the anger earlier. Instead, they were filled with thought and concern.

They could almost imagine the terror Kelsie felt when she told them about her battle against the shadows. When she got to the part where the shadow slammed into her and got her paralyzed for the second time, their eyes widened. Finally, when she concluded her story, they looked as though they were the ones ready to apologize to her.

"So that was what happened while we were asleep," said Gimli.

Legolas nodded. "I guess we really underestimated you, Kelsie. It was actually very brave of you to be able to face such terror."

Kelsie shrugged casually. "I was just doing my job. And besides, those shadows could be killed by the lightest tough of blade. It's not the same as fighting orcs."

"But they also have the power to paralyze their victims, which gives them an advantage over us," said Legolas. "I wonder, do they have the power to freeze all living things?"

"I'm not sure," Kelsie admitted. "I was the only one there."

"I think Legolas means living things such as trees," explained Gimli.

Kelsie furrowed her brow as she tried to recall the smaller details of the memory. "The atmosphere did feel a little off, even after I destroyed all the shadows. I think it was just an aftereffect."

"Either way, I believe Fangorn should be warned of this threat. Though we are not sure if it will affect him and his Ents, they should know of what is in their forest," said Legolas.

Kelsie's ears perked up at the mention of the first friend she had met in this world. Of course he would have to be warned! Why did she not think of him before? "Oh, you mean Treebeard?" she said absent-mindedly. "Sure! How could I forget?"

Legolas and Gimli stared at her. "And were did the name "Treebeard" come from?" asked Legolas.

"That's what he told me to call him," said Kelsie.

"Then it sure fits him more," said Gimli. "Much better than being called "Fangorn". Legolas glared at him.

Kelsie nodded in agreement as another idea came to her head. "Could I take the message to Treebeard?"

Legolas stood up immediately. "No. You've faced enough danger last night."

"But that doesn't mean I can't help," protested Kelsie.

Legolas shook his head. "I know that you want to contribute more to our group, and I'm glad you do. But you have already contributed a lot by fighting those shadows last night. I'm doing this because I don't want to get you into any more danger, not because I don't appreciate your help."

Kelsie sighed in defeat. There was no arguing with him this time. She had volunteered to take watch and ended up having to fight shadows. If she was to run into trouble again, they might even take her weapons away so she wouldn't try to fight. "So I guess I just stay here and wait?"

Legolas looked at Gimli. "Actually, you can stay with her, Gimli. I don't think you would be interested in talking to Ents." Gimli nodded and walked to Kelsie's side.

Then, after giving then each a small nod, Legolas lightly ran through the trees and out of their sight.

"I guess we won't be going to Lorien soon," said Gimli, disappointed. "I was kind of looking forward to going there."

Kelsie nodded in agreement. "So was I."

"Hope that elf doesn't take too long. Then we might still have a bit of time."

"I don't think he'll take too long. He's really fast for an elf. I just hope nothing bad happens to him or Treebeard."

"Heh, Treebeard," said Gimli. "I like that name. It fits him more."

"If you put leaves in your beard and wore a tree disguise, then you'd look just like him," joked Kelsie.

Gimli grinned miscieviously. "Should I give it a try?"

Kelsie leaned against a tree and grinned back. "I dare you."

So for the next hour, they played a continuous game where they had to dare each other to do semi-challenging tricks. After Gimli successfully finished filling his beard with leaves, he dared Kelsie to cartwheel around the trees five times. Kelsie passed this challenge, but only barely since she almost crashed into a tree. Then, she dared Gimli try to shake all the leaves out of his beard without using his hands. She almost doubled over laughing, while watching Gimli do all sorts of crazy dances. Finally, when her sides started hurting, she allowed him to use his hands. After that, the dares only got harder and harder.

Then, when Kelsie announced that she was tired enough, they finally stopped playing. Gimli was slightly disappointed that he wouldn't be able to dare her to do this particularly tricky dare he had just thought of. Kelsie was actually glad when the game ended, since she did not want to suffer more than she already had. She sat down to think of a better dare for Gimli if they ever resumed the game, but her thoughts were soon interrupted.

"That elf should be back by now," Gimli said gruffly. "I wonder what is taking him so long."

Kelsie knew immediately who he was talking about. "He probably struck up a nice conversation with Treebeard."

"He'd better not," said Gimli.

"Or something might have held him back," said Kelsie.

"Like what? He can't be held back that easily. Especially not after he claims he's a better fighter than me."

"Well, I don't know exactly what might have happened, but I'd give him some more time if I were you."

Gimli groaned. "As long as I get food," he seemed to mutter.

Still unwilling to continue the game, Kelsie waited for another thirty minutes. During that time, her dread started growing. What if Legolas had actually met with some trouble? He could have been captured and taken to some torture chamber while they were sitting here dong nothing. As she sat thinking more and about these possibilities, the more her dread grew. She really hoped that nothing had intercepted Legolas on his way, but she still had that sinking feeling that something was off.

"I can't wait any longer!" Kelsie suddenly stood up.

Gimli jumped at her sudden outburst. "Are you saying you want to try to find Legolas?"

"Exactly," said Kelsie, without hesitation. "I have this really bad feeling that something must have intercepted him along the way. At his speed, he should be back by now. Even if he had a nice conversation with Treebeard, it still shouldn't take him this long. And he can't be lured off course easily, since he is so loyal to his friends. The only answer to the problem is that he must have been attacked!"

"Yes, very likely," said Gimli in a half-sarcastic, half-non-sarcastic tone.

Kelsie decided it was time to do the threatening trick that would make people change their minds. "Okay then I'm going," she said. When Gimli still didn't move, she started to head the direction Legolas had gone.

Suddenly, Kelsie heard a pair of heavy footsteps behind her. She turned around to see Gimli running up to her. "I'm coming, I'm coming," he called roughly. "Since Legolas will probably blame me if you were gone." He came to a stop next to her.

"No, he probably wouldn't. It would be more reasonable if he blamed me," said Kelsie. "Not that I'd prefer it that way," she muttered.

"Do you have any idea what you're doing?" inquired Gimli, as they half-walked, half-ran through the forest.

"For now, yes," answered Kelsie.

"And since when did you get to make the decisions?" asked Gimli, suspiciously.

"I'm just doing what I think I should be doing," said Kelsie. "And right now, that's making sure Legolas is okay."

Gimli muttered something under his breath, but Kelsie didn't even bother to listen. Her mind was set on finding Legolas and making sure nothing attacked him. The bad feeling she had was not going away - it was only growing worse and worse.

For about thirty minutes, they continued at the same pace. Nothing special happened during that time, except for the fact that Kelsie's dread was growing. They just continued jogging through the trees, stopping only occasionally to take a break. Kelsie remembered that on the day she had arrived at this world, she had also trained herself a bit, starting by running through the forest. She was now thankful for that, since it helped her dodge tree roots and navigate herself so that she didn't crash into anything.

Gimli was not having such a good time. As a dwarf, he was not very used to running through forests. There were several times when he tripped over a tree root. Kelsie would know exactly when that happened, since she would always hear a dwarvish curse, or something like that.

Kelsie suddenly came to a stop. Something had alerted her. She wasn't sure what it was, but it was most likely something bad. She motioned for Gimli to stay still while she looked and listened to her surroundings. Everything sounded quiet and suspenseful, like as though something was getting ready to attack. This filled her with unease. Could something be hiding among the trees at that moment, ready to strike?

Having been around elves for so long, Gimli knew well of their senses. Elves had way better sight and hearing than men and dwarves, and they could usually tell if something was wrong. So when Kelsie had motioned for him to stay still, he immediately obeyed her. After a moment, she motioned for Gimli to follow her as quietly as he could, which he tried his best to do.

Kelsie's eyes darted nervously around her as she took the lead. She knew that Gimli was trusting her and her senses. She could _not _fail him. Yet, with the feeling of danger around her, she found it hard to trust even herself. _I hope I know what I'm doing. _She silently ran forward, wishing Gimli could be just a bit quieter when running.

"We're getting close to were Treebeard is," she announced when she felt it was safe enough to talk. "If we keep at this pace, we should be there in just a few minutes."

Gimli just grunted in reply. By now, he also had a bad feeling that something must have happened to Legolas.

A few minutes later, Kelsie burst into the small clearing in which she had first been in. She looked around. Not much had changed during that time. The pond was still there and so were the trees. However, there was definitely a change in the atmosphere.

She noticed quickly that it was colder than it should have been. It was as if something - hopefully not one of those shadows - had sprinkled some ice over the forest and left it there to freeze.

"I don't see him anywhere," said Gimli, who had come in behind her. Kelsie could see that he was right. There was no trace of Legolas anywhere.

Kelsie nervously walked over to a certain tree near the pond. "Maybe Treebeard will have some answers. Unless Legolas didn't make it here at all."

"Or maybe he already left and gone looking for us," suggested Gimli.

Kelsie shook her head. "He would have been back a long time ago, or we would have met him on the way." She stopped in front of tree. "Treebeard?"

There was no answer.

"Treebeard, it's me, Kelsie. Can you hear me?"

Still no answer.

Gimli walked over with his axe in his hands. "If talking doesn't work, then this is what we do." Before Kelsie could respond, he lifted the axe...and knocked the tree three times with the handle.

Still no answer.

Kelsie glanced at Gimli. _Yes, there is obviously something wrong with Treebeard, _her eyes seemed to say. Gimli understood and nodded. "Now what do we do?"

Kelsie looked back at Treebeard. What could have happened to him to make him so unresponsive? Or did all Ents act this way? She shook her head again to get the last question out of her head. Of course all Ents didn't act this way. _I should stop being so negative. _

Just then, Kelsie noticed something surrounding Treebeard. It was like some kind of mist, only it was black. _A black mist? Now that doesn't seem right. _She looked closer and realized that it was actually more solid than it seemed. It looked more like a...

"Shadow!" Kelsie yelled out loud.

Gimli jumped in surprise for the third time that day. "Shadows? Where are they?"

Kelsie back away slowly. "It's the shadows, Gimli. They've paralyzed Treebeard."

Gimli came over and looked closely at the 'shadow' surrounding Treebeard. "So they've been here." He tightened his grip on his ax.

"If they have already gotten to Treebeard, then it's possible that they also might have gotten to Legolas!" said Kelsie. She started pacing around the small clearing. Somehow, it helped her think more clearly. However, she had only gone ten paces when she tripped over something. Wondering why she wasn't looking where she was going, she got up and saw what she had tripped over.

Surprisingly, it was a long, curved knife. Kelsie picked it up by the handle and examined it. It was definitely elvish. She looked around for any other weapons lying on the ground, but she found none. She turned her attention back to the knife. Somehow, it looked distantly familiar. Had she seen it before?

She passed the knife to Gimli. "Can you identify it?"

As Gimli examined the knife, his eyes widened. The knife was indeed very familiar to him. "Legolas," he whispered.

Now Kelsie knew why the knife looked familiar. This was one of the knives that had saved her from the spider. _Good, _she thought. _Great way to__ repay the owner._ She looked at Gimli - they were both thinking the same thing. But it was Kelsie who spoke.

"Time to do some tracking."


	6. Chapter 6: and Found

**Author's Notes: **This one actually took a lot shorter than I expected. However this chapter will contain more action and violence than the other ones. It's not particularly a lot, but I'm just warning you.

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 6: ...and Found<strong>

Kelsie carefully placed the knife back on the ground, where she had found it. Her plan was to discover the hidden story behind it through observation. Once the knife was in place, she carefully stepped back and surveyed the whole clearing.

It was the same as detecting some mystery crime scene, only it was ten times harder. The only evidence that was clearly visible was the knife. Kelsie knew that there were many more pieces of evidence to be found, but they could only be discovered by very close observation. Or by the keenest elven eyesight, in her case.

"Do you know anything about tracking?" she asked Gimli.

Gimli shrugged. "I haven't really done much tracking myself, but I've seen Aragorn and Legolas do it."

"What do they do?"

"They just stare at the ground and follow invisible trails."

"Okay then," replied Kelsie. _I guess Gimli wouldn't be of much help when it comes to tracking._ She did, however, follow the advice that was given, though she didn't just stare at the ground. Instead, she decided to actually observe closely to find footprints that would hopefully lead somewhere.

Straining her eyes, she could see just the lightest of footprints that stained the grass. _Those must be Legolas' footprints. Only an elf could make such light marks in the grass._ Usually, human footprints could easily be detected by elven eyes, but elven footprints were way harder. Most elves didn't even leave footprints when they ran. She guessed that Legolas must have been in a hurry to have forgotten to step lightly.

After a several minutes, Kelsie was able to make out part of what had happened. Starting from a corner, there was a trail of light footprints that led to the middle, where it became a confusing jumble. Then the trail continued in the direction the knife lay, but they were heavier and spread out more. However, they never made it to the knife, for they had stopped short, only a few feet away.

Kelsie was confused. Where had the rest of the tracks gone? Then, she saw another set of tracks, but they weren't just a set of two. They were a set of eight. They had picked up where Legolas' footprints left off, and they were heading out of the forest in the direction they had come.

Kelsie's eyes grew wide. A set of eight? What could possibly have eight legs? Then, it hit her.

Legolas had been paralyzed by the shadows and taken by a spider.

Kelsie froze for a moment, panic immediately overwhelming her. Legolas was at the risk of death. But how could she prevent him from a terrible fate? She was suddenly jolted out of her thoughts by a familiar voice.

"Are you going to stand there all day or what?" said Gimli, very impatiently. "You look like you've just been paralyzed."

Kelsie quickly picked up Legolas' knife, and turned to the direction the spider tracks led. "I found out what happened." Her eyes scanned over the area once more to make sure she had every detail of her discovery correct. "Legolas had come in to warn Treebeard about the shadows, but somehow, he ended up actually fighting them. He must have thrown his knife at them, but missed, because when he came to retrieve it, he got paralyzed severely and he couldn't break through. Then, the shadows must have left him to the spider, which saw him as easy prey! Which means that if we don't hurry, _he will get eaten by the spider!" _

Her last words rang in Gimli's ears. Legolas had been his friend and loyal companion for a long time, and the thought of him getting eaten by a spider definitely put a lot of worry in his heart. He didn't even pause to think if there was another possible and more positive explanation to the investment. His mind was now set on finding Legolas. However, even as he started to follow Kelsie, another horrifying thought entered his mind and worked its way to the surface.

"What it's too late?" Gimli blurted out before thinking. Then, he resisted the temptation to slap himself for thinking like that.

Kelsie stopped for a moment, then shook her head to get rid of that thought. "It can't be too late. There's got to be hope that he hasn't be eaten yet. I just hope we can actually get there on time."

Gimli took a second to register that, then he nodded. "You're right. We must hurry. And since you can see the tracks, you should take the lead."

Kelsie started to run, but before she did, she silently sent a message to Treebeard, hoping that he would recover soon. As much her mind was set on finding Legolas, she also wanted the Ent to know that he was not forgotten, and that she would also try to find a way to unparalyze him.

She easily leapt through the trees. The spider tracks in the ground were very easy to distinguish, so she could travel at a fast pace while keeping her eyes on the trail. She looked back to see if Gimli could follow her elven speed.

Driven by the desire to find Legolas, Gimli did not notice the speed he was running at. As a dwarf, he could easily sprint fast, but only for a short period of time. However, since he was so eager to rescue his friend, his energy did not go down as he ran. He was able to match Kelsie's speed without breathing too hard.

Kelsie followed the spider tracks around several turns, dodging the trees that stood in her way. Both her mind and her heart were racing. What if she really was to late? To prevent her self from thinking that, she concentrated on her footsteps, trying to be nimble and as light as possible. For several minutes, nothing really happened as they continued to follow the trail. Kelsie would occasionally have to slow down a little for Gimli to catch up, but other than that, they just continued running.

As Kelsie started to enter a more shadowy part of the forest, the spider's prints started to fade away. Confused, Kelsie also slowed down to a stop. The strange feeling of eerie silence she had earlier was coming back now. The silence was suspenseful, like as though she were in a mystery movie, and something was waiting for the right moment to strike.

"Weapons out," she whispered to Gimli. "I think we are near."

Gimli immediately held up his ax and watched as Kelsie began to search for the rest of the trail. It was harder and harder for her to see, almost to the point where it completely disappeared. Soon, it became invisible to even elf eyes as Kelsie neared a large tree. She looked up and narrowed her eyes. Could the spider be somewhere up there?

She turned to Gimli. "I'm going to see if I can spot the spider. If I get in danger, I'll yell 'help', and you can come." Gimli nodded to show that he understood, even though he also didn't like having to follow orders.

Kelsie quickly planted her hands firmly on the tree and pulled herself up. Then, when she was secure, she started to jump up from branch to branch. Twice, she slipped, and once, she almost lost her balance and fell off, but still, she managed to get to a safe, leaf-covered place. _Note to self: practice climbing. _Slowly, she edged over to the far side of the tree and looked out.

Her eyes widened and narrowed at the same time as she saw the scene before her. The first thing her eyes fell on was a figure in the middle. It was covered completely with spider webs. Even though she couldn't really see the face, Kelsie knew that it was Legolas. Seeing him like this brought much anger to her, and she almost couldn't wait to find that spider and kill it. _Every day that spider lives is equal to the end of a life. Or three lives, depending on the number of meals. _Tightening her grip on the branch she was holding, she waited for a sign of danger.

Suddenly, a large spider burst out from the trees. This one was even larger than the one Kelsie had encountered the day before. It also looked twice as malicious, its piercing black eyes settled on its prey. It crawled over and started to pick at the webs covering the elf.

Kelsie didn't even think before reacting. She immediately took out her bow, pulled back an arrow, aimed it at the spider's head, and released it. The spider let out a deafening screech as it reeled back, an arrow protruding from its forehead. Silently, Kelsie punched her fist in the air and mouthed _"Score!"_. But soon, her mood faded, and she found herself facing more than she could possibly handle.

She wasn't sure if the spiders were already there, or if they just happened to come. From the trees entered four more giant black spiders, heading towards Legolas, as the first spider tried to locate its attacker. Fortunately, Kelsie was well hidden among the tree leaves and it was hard for them to spot her. Still, her shock was unimaginable as she saw five gigantic spiders gathered so close to her.

She quickly forced herself to get over her shock and start fighting. She pulled back another arrow, aimed it at the spider closest to Legolas, and released it. This time, it hit the spider in the neck. Seeing a second of their kind being injured, the rest of the spiders knew that they were next. However, they still couldn't find their attacker, no matter how hard they tried.

Suddenly, Kelsie heard a rustle behind her, and another spider burst forth - this time, right next to the tree she was hiding in. A large shudder vibrated through the tree as the spider roughly brushed past it. Kelsie stifled a scream as she was tossed up from the branch she was on. As she fell, she managed to grab on to the same branch, though only barely. Now, she was dangling from the branch with one hand, the other holding on tightly to her bow. Her heart was beating so loudly that she would have mistaken it for a drum. _One wrong move and I'm over. _Kelsie closed her eyes as she felt her hand begin to slip.

"_I see it! Over there!"_

Kelsie's eyes snapped open to the sound of the raspy, hungry voice. Her mind jolted with fear - a spider had spotted her. "No, no, no..." she said to nothing in particular. "I'm not going to die like this." Desperately, she closed her eyes and waited.

The four uninjured spiders rushed in on her all in once. Their harmful spirits had risen again at seeing another being. _This one will soon be joining the meal, _they thought. _It can't even protect itself, after all. _However, as the first spider got ready to pounce on the elfling, it instead met with something they didn't expect.

Using all her strength, Kelsie swung herself forward and onto the back of the nearest spider. Putting her bow away for now, she took out the first weapon she could find - which happened to be Legolas' knife - and stabbed the spider's neck, just as Legolas had done when he rescued her. Then, she wobbly slid off the spider's back and turned to face the next one.

For a moment, she was confused when she saw nothing on front of her. But soon she found out why. Something slammed into her back, hard, spreading pain rapidly throughout her body, making her drop the knife. The impact of the hit was so hard that it caused her to fly several feet and land face-down on the ground. Groaning, she tried to get up, but as soon as she rolled over, she felt a spider's leg press hard against her throat.

Kelsie froze for a moment, not sure what to do. If she moved, the spider would surely kill her. But if she didn't move, the spider would also kill her - or worse, eat her. The three other spiders were watching excitedly, waiting to see some torture. Panic was taking over now. She had to do something, fast. Then, she remembered that she was not alone.

Knowing this was her only chance, she opened her mouth and cried out in the loudest voice she could. "Gimli! HELP!"

The spider pressed harder against her throat. "_Careful, elfling, or I'll have to slit your throat. And nobody will come to rescue you." _Kelsie gulped nervously, then regretted doing so, since it made her throat hurt. _Please, Gimli, please come fast, _she prayed. She cried out as the leg started to cut into her skin. It was pain she had never experienced before. Especially for someone who lived a life in a much safer world and had never fought battles before, this was certainly a tremendous step. She bit her lip painfully and waited to see what would happen.

Suddenly, a stout figure burst from the trees. With a mighty roar, Gimli ran over to the spider holding her and brought his axe down on its neck. Remembering to thank him later, Kelsie threw the limp spider's leg off and got up.

With renewed determination, she pulled out her sword and faced the next spider. It tried to swipe at her, but she quickly cut its leg off. Then, she bravely charged forward, dodging all the blows that were aimed at her, and stabbed upwards. The spider screeched, then fell limp. Kelsie then tried to tug her sword out, but found it harder than she expected. She managed to pull it out successfully, but almost fell over. Then, she looked around for the other two spiders, but saw that Gimli had taken care of them already.

Then, she turned to see the two injured spiders huddling over a figure. With horror, she realized that they were getting ready to eat Legolas. "Why did I forget?" she muttered to herself, smacking her forehead. Then, along with Gimli, she ran over to them, sword out in front of her.

Kelsie jumped at the one nearer to her, stabbing its back with her sword. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Gimli bringing his ax down on the other one. She tugged out her sword correctly this time and ducked as the spider screeched and spun around, almost slamming into her. Luckily, she jumped back just in time, and swiped her sword again, making a deep slash across the spider's hideous face. With the pain being too much to bear, the spider finally sank to the ground, defeated.

Kelsie stood there panting for a moment. _Did...I just...kill those...spiders? _Even her thoughts reflected how exhausted she was at that moment. She summoned her remaining energy and painfully walked over to Legolas. The pain in her back was growing again, and her throat had a deep red mark across it. She drew her finger across the scar and looked at it. It was covered in blood. _That's nice, _she thought sarcastically. _A scar across my throat. Not bad. _But her expression portrayed the opposite.

Her body calling in protest, she managed to help Gimli remove all the webs from Legolas, who was still paralyzed. After they were done, Kelsie sat back down painfully and observed the spiders. She noticed that their legs were sharp along the edges. That must be where she had been hit. She slowly reached behind and located the spot on her back she had been hit in. A line of pain spread from the middle of her back as she got there. She quickly withdrew her hand and looked at it. To her relief, there was no blood, so she assumed that it might have been bruised.

Gimli noticed her discomfort. "Does it hurt too much?" he asked.

Kelsie shrugged. "It'll wear off. Eventually," she added, not surprised at how feeble her voice sounded.

The dwarf shook his head. Then, he grabbed a handful of the webs he had just pulled off and handed them to her. "These may help stop the bleeding."

Kelsie took the webs and inspected them. Nobody could blame her for being suspicious of anything that had to do with spiders, especially after she had just fought them. Deciding it was best to use them for now, she stretched them over her throat and tied it in the back. It wasn't the most comfortable cure, but it was the only available one.

Having nothing else to do, due to her current condition, Kelsie moved herself so that she was sitting leaning against a tree. In her mind, she traced over all the events that had happened over the past few days in Middle-Earth. She remembered meeting a spider for the first time. Since she didn't have much experience at that time, she had only managed to chop of the spider's leg just in time. She had survived only because Legolas and Gimli were there to save her. So much had happened since then, even though it had only been a few days. Now, she had extended her skills to a point where she could actually kill spiders on her own - though just barely.

_Treebeard was right. I still have a long way ahead of me. _She wondered what she would have to battle next, and what new skills she would discover. Looking over at Gimli, who was kneeling over a still unmoving Legolas, she remembered the mental note she had made during the fight.

"Thanks for saving me, Gimli," she said, gratefully. "You came right on time, before the spider killed me."

Gimli looked up for a moment. "I did what I had to. I knew you were in trouble when I heard your call, and I couldn't bear losing another friend." His voice was heavy as he said this.

"Legolas is not lost," Kelsie said, her voice getting a little stronger.

"I know," Gimli nodded. Then, he turned back to Legolas and became silent again.

_He is not lost, _Kelsie repeated confidently in her mind. But even as she said this, her eyelids started to get heavy. She would have to wait a bit longer to help. Exhaustion was starting to take over, and she doubted she could stay awake for much longer. Soon, she was fast asleep, her eyes closed firmly. Even as she slept, her thoughts stayed in her mind. She knew that Legolas was _not _lost, and she would do anything to stop the shadows and the spiders from causing more harm, even if it meant more injuries. But for now, she needed a break from fighting.


	7. Chapter 7: Moving Out

**Chapter 7: Moving Out**

A dark shadow glided soundlessly across the forest, being careful to keep out of sight. This wasn't just any shadow extending from a dark figure. No, it was a dark figure itself. A dark shadow that cast a shadow upon others, freezing them, leaving them paralyzed for life. Superior to other shadows, it had the power to paralyze its victims permanently. Those who were paralyzed would be forced to live a very short life, since they would be unable to do anything on their own. It also traveled faster and reacted quicker, while the others floated rather than flew.

The trees turned cold as the shadow brushed past them. Though they weren't considered alive by all, they could feel the fear that the shadow brought upon them. It spread throughout their bodies, all the way from their roots to their leaves.

The shadow loved to spread fear. Especially to those elves and other forest inhabitants. It was familiar with the ways of the elves, making it easy to travel through forests, unseen, just as they did.

As it thought about elves, it remembered the revenge it had sworn to a certain elfling. It was the elfling that had destroyed all the other shadows, leaving it alone with nothing to use. It hadn't been able to attack her yet - it was still too risky. The elfling had already encountered shadows, and she could tell when they were nearby. That was why the shadow had chosen to start with the other elf, instead.

Knowing that even though the older elf was far better at fighting, it still had an advantage over him. It could easily sneak up on him and use its paralyzing power to freeze him until he died. Then, it would move on to the next companion, the dwarf.

The shadow had never paralyzed a dwarf before, due to the fact that it preferred to stay within the forest. But this was too good a chance to miss. After all, everything had to start with a first try in order to proceed.

It glided among the trees, thinking about what lay beyond the forest. It knew that there were much more people somewhere out there, waiting to be paralyzed. It had heard of large cities near the forest filled with hundreds of inhabitants. They would make a perfect place to spread fear and cold among the people living there. Those people would have no idea of the evil that was coming their way. And when it did strike, they would have to remain paralyzed for the rest of their shortened lives.

If it had a mouth, the shadow would be smirking at the idea. This was a great way to spread fear, just for the fun of it. The more people it got to, the better.

However, this plan also came with a price, and if it went wrong, it would prove to be a high one. The shadow had always stayed away from largely populated areas for a reason - it did not want to be seen. Having to adapt to large cities meant that it would be harder to stay unseen. And if the news of its arrival was spread, its plan was ruined.

Yet, the thought of spreading fear was so joyous to the shadow that it could not resist the temptation. It had to make up its 'mind' soon, despite the negatives of its choice.

The shadow zoomed through the forest in the direction of the cities, making its choice. It was time to move out.

* * *

><p>Kelsie awoke to the searing pain in her back. Groggily, she tried to sit up, but the pain didn't get any better. She slowly pushed herself away from the tree she was leaning against. Then, she let out the breath she had been holding as the pain in her back receded.<p>

Though her back still ached a bit, she was glad to find that the gash across her throat was healing fast. The bleeding had completely stopped, and the wound itself was no more than a faint red mark. _Must be because of my natural elven healing ability, _she concluded. She tossed the cobweb bandage aside and slowly stood up.

She wasn't sure if time had gone by a bit too fast or a bit too slow. The sun was beginning to disappear over the trees, and night was falling. The sky was painted with a dazzling sunset, and a tiny sliver of the moon could be seen. _Seven o' clock, by the looks of it._

She looked over at where Gimli lay, sleeping next to a paralyzed Legolas. Even though they seemed peaceful, the situation was starting to get her panicked. What if they never found a cure for the paralyzed? Kelsie thought of Treebeard, whom she had promised to revisit. Of course she couldn't fail him. Neither could she fail Legolas. She looked at the paralyzed elf, wishing he could be in a better state. If only she could do something to undo this cold curse...

Suddenly, she saw something dark flash from between the trees. Narrowing her eyes, she pulled out her sword. There was a chance that it could be a shadow. In fact, it was a very big chance. This frightened her plenty. She remembered what the shadows had done to Legolas and Treebeard. If there were shadows roaming anywhere near them, then the were sure to bring further harm. Kelsie remembered the warning she had gotten before the night she had discovered the shadows. After that, she had only regretted her actions.

But in this case, it was the shadows that were lurking around, not her. They had to be stopped before they could paralyze anyone else. Maybe she would have better luck this time, since she already knew how to deal with them. Perphaps she might just save the day this time. She silently crept over to investigate.

Kelsie edged towards the trees, trying to stay away as far as possible from the bodies of the dead spiders. The horrid smell of their rotting bodies filled the air, disrupting the mood of the peaceful-looking sunset. She wondered what Treebeard or any of the Ents would say if they found a pile of large dead spiders in their forest. It wasn't going to be pleasant, she knew.

When she had neared the trees, she stopped to see if the shadow would come again. She could see no further sign of danger so far. Sensing that something was strange, she ran forward, her eyes darting from side to side.

She ran between the two trees she had seen the shadow between, holding her sword above her head. A cool breeze rustled the leaves overhead as she passed by. Kelsie looked around for the shadow to come back, but so far, there was nothing. She stayed there for a few more minutes, fully alert. When nothing happened, she started to get nervous. The shadow could be anywhere right now, doing anything, and she had no power to stop it. It could be hiding unpredictably in the trees, ready to strike.

The silence that was covering the forest made Kelsie dreadfully nervous. Shadows were mysterious, she knew, and the silence only added more eeriness to it. "Who's there?" she called out in a semi-loud voice. As she suspected, there was no response. Still, being able to hear a voice in such a situation, even if it was her own, made her feel a lot more relaxed.

After several more minutes of waiting, she decided it was getting useless. "That shadow was probably too cowardly to come back," she said to herself. "No point of waiting here." She walked back to the camp at a normal pace, seemingly relaxed.

Without warning, she whipped around, clutching her sword out in front of her, as though she had expected the enemy to be right behind her. Her sudden movement would have scared the mind out of anyone - if they had a mind - but unfortunately, there was nothing behind her. She sighed. _No big surprise, I guess. _Maybe the shadow _had _completely left.

Disappointed that she couldn't prevent the shadow from performing more of its evil tricks, she ran back to the camp. It was only when she had Gimli and Legolas in her sight that she sheathed her sword and relaxed. _Great. The shadows on the run again and I haven't been training to be a police. How am I ever supposed to track it down?_

She sat leaning against the tree for a while pondering what she could do to be useful. Shadow-tracking was definitely out of question at this time. Her gaze fell on the spiders, and she wondered if there were more of them lurking in the forest. Frowning, she shook her head. The spiders would have to wait until the shadows had been taken care of. Spiders were a constant, well-known enemy - but shadows were the new threat.

_If I can't catch that shadow right now, I could at least help those who had been paralyzed, _she thought, looking at Legolas. She crawled over to where they lay and thought about what she could do to help.

_Okay. He's paralyzed and so far, we have found no known cure for him. Even if we did, we probably won't have much chance of success depending on our current location. So, what we need most is a suitable location, with the right supplies and the people who might know what to do. Now let's say I somehow manage to think of a nice cure. I still wouldn't be sure if it is safe, and I don't think Gimli would approve, either, since he knows I'm an unexperienced elfling. This means that the only way to undo this cold spell would be to find a city with good information and trusty people I could rely on!_

Kelsie thought this idea over several times before she actually approved of it. Seeing that they were currently in a helpless state, she had to find a better place and some more experienced people for help. It was the only good choice she had at this point. Although, she wasn't completely sure if traveling to a nearby city would be easy. Either way, she had to take risks if Legolas was to live.

She quickly recalled all the information about the geography of Middle-Earth she had read. She hadn't really paid as much attention to the locations of the civilizations as she now wished she had, since social studies had never been her favorite subject at school. However, she had to try her best to find the closest large city, despite her limited knowledge of the geography.

Closing her eyes, Kelsie used her artistic talent to create a map from the knowledge she had. She started with the forest of Fangorn, then spread outwards towards other civilizations, such as Rivendell, Mirkwood, Lorien, Rohan, and Gondor. She also tried to include some of the mountains and ecoregions in her mind map.

After a seemingly long period of extreme thinking and picturing, Kelsie finally opened her eyes. She took a moment to rest her mind, since all that calculating had taken a lot of brainpower. Then, when she had gotten some of her energy back, she retraced the route to her destination.

Rohan was not very far away, she knew. It lay at the south of Fangorn forest, closest to their location. If they traveled quickly enough on foot, it should take less than a day to get there. A day usually seemed like a lot to her, but now she counted herself lucky for not having to take any longer than a day. If she were even luckier, they could possibly run in to a group of riders from Rohan and take much less time to travel on horse. She rehearsed this plan over in her head a few more times before she confirmed it. She just hoped that Gimli would approve of it.

Something reminded her that she should stop wasting time doing nothing. She looked over at Gimli, who was still sleeping soundly. She hated having to wake him up, but she knew that this was a must. "Hey! Gimli! Wake up!" she called. Gimli stirred a little, but didn't wake up.

Kelsie tried again. "You'd better wake up now, 'cause the shadows are coming!"

Gimli groaned and rolled over to block out the shouting, but he still didn't wake up. Kelsie was forced to try a third time. "Legolas has been double paralyzed! You going to help him or not?" she yelled in his ear, poking him with a random twig she found.

Gimli finally opened his eyes and muttered something in dwarvish. Kelsie silently growled at herself for being horrible at waking people up.

"What do you mean by waking me up at this time? It's barely even morning!" he complained, clearly not in the best mood.

Kelsie hoped he wouldn't overreact to the truth. "Er...Actually, the night has barely started."

Gimli looked at the sky. She was right - the stars were only beginning to show. Confused, he tried to remember when he had fallen asleep. Kelsie could easily tell what he was thinking. "You probably fell asleep after me."

"And when did you fall asleep?"

"After the fight with the spiders."

His memory came back to him as he recalled the fight with the spiders and how they found Legolas lying paralyzed, at the risk of being eaten. Gimli furrowed his brow as he looked at the heap of dead spiders. "Yes, I definitely remembered that very well."

Kelsie decided not to respond to that, even though she knew how well he could remember things. Instead, she decided to explain her plan to him. "So, while you were asleep, I came up with a plan to save our friend here."

The dwarf's eyes lit up with hope. "So there is a way to unparalyze him."

"Yes, and if you are willing to listen, there will be a chance that we set him free from this cold spell."

"Yes, yes, go on," said Gimli, half-impatiently.

So Kelsie explained her plan, making sure to include all details that may be useful to them. She carefully stated how she thought Rohan might be a good choice for them to visit next, since it was the closest.

However, she did leave out the part about her second encounter with the shadow. It actually wasn't much of an encounter, but she still decided to completely leave it out. The news of more shadow spotting would only make them more panicked, even if it was only for a second. Just the slightest mistake could lead up to lots of trouble, and she wasn't going to risk it.

Thankfully, Gimli didn't react too rashly. He actually thought it over before giving his opinion. "If that's the best choice we've got, then I'll agree to it."

Kelsie shrugged. "It's the quickest one. Rohan is the nearest city to here. I didn't choose Mirkwood, because you probably won't be welcome there."

Gimli growled at the memory of Mirkwood. Many years ago, his father, Gloin, had been captured while trying to pass through with several other dwarves and a hobbit. This memory was not a good one, though he was less tense now than he was before his friendship with Legolas.

"Alright then what are we waiting for? Let's just go on to that city,and get him rid of that shadow," he said with full impatience.

"Just what I've been trying to tell you," Kelsie responded plainly. She had gotten quite used to the manner the dwarf spoke in.

Gimli grabbed Legolas and put him across him shoulders with ease. Kelsie couldn't help but ask. "How do you do that?"

Gimli walked forward in the direction of Rohan, making Kelsie automatically follow him. "Dwarves have great strength, in case you haven't noticed. Besides, he's actually very light, like all elves."

Kelsie stiffened up a little. She made a mental note reminding her never to get him angry. He could easily pick her up and throw her who-knows-how-far. She just hoped that he would still trust her, even if her plan went terribly wrong. Yet, even as she followed him to Rohan, she felt a flicker of hope. Perhaps her plan _will _work. She'll just have to cross her fingers when the time came. Despite the fact that they weren't as lucky as she thought.

They had no idea about the trouble they were getting themselves into.


	8. Chapter 8: Entering Rohan

**Chapter 8: Entering Rohan**

"There. We made it to the edge. It wasn't that bad, wasn't it?"

Kelsie stood at the edge of the forest, surveying the scene before her. An array of rolling hills were spread before her. It was calm and still, and other than the soft breeze that ruffled the taller grasses, there was no sign of movement. _It shouldn't be hard to cross these plains, _she thought.

She heard heavy footsteps behind her, and Gimli burst out from the trees with Legolas still draped across his back. "Next time, I'd rather you run slower," he said, panting slightly. "You forgot I'm the one who has to carry the burden."

Kelsie raised an eyebrow. "You do realize that you just called your own friend 'the burden', right?"

Gimli growled. "Dwarves are not meant to be slaves to elves, do you not know that?"

The elfling backed away a little. "Yes, I know that. I never said anything about dwarves being slaves to elves."

Gimli just growled again and continued forward. Kelsie fell in line behind him, many thoughts crowding her mind. Now that he had agreed to her plan, the next thing she needed to worry about was the details. Would the people of Rohan welcome them or not? And would King Eomer still trust Gimli even if he saw Legolas paralyzed and an elfling stranger following them?

They walked over the hills and onto rocky plains. Kelsie could hear Gimli muttering to himself, even though she couldn't understand what he was saying. She was getting slightly bored by now, and she wished to either run or start a conversation. Running was more exciting than walking, but with Gimli here, that wasn't a good choice. She thought about asking him about Rohan, which did seem like a good idea, but she wasn't sure if he was angry or sad. It wouldn't be good, either way. She just decided to keep her mouth shut and continue walking.

After several more minutes of walking, Kelsie just couldn't stand the boredom anymore. "So how is it like in Rohan?" she asked.

Gimli grunted. "Okay, I guess. Though I prefer the caves and mountains more."

Kelsie gave up, knowing that it was no use talking to him at this point. He and Legolas had established a very strong and unusual friendship during their journey in the Fellowship. To see Legolas paralyzed like that, almost at the risk of death, would surely bring him loads of sorrow and fury. It was clearly not a good time to be optimistic.

With her mind still full of worries and unanswered questions, she bounded forward and stood on a large boulder. Shielding her eyes from the sun, she looked far, far away, covering great distance with her elven eyesight. Her heart suddenly leaped with hope when she saw something.

"I think I see Rohan!" she called to Gimli. "We're almost there!"

Gimli's head suddenly snapped up. "Where? I don't see it."

"Just follow me," Kelsie answered, not caring that his eyesight differed from hers. She lightly ran towards the direction of Rohan. After a minute (thankfully it was only a minute), Gimli gave a yell.

"Now I see Rohan!" he called. He wasn't sure why, but the sight of Rohan filled him with hope. Maybe it was because he now had a chance of saving his friend. He had been to Rohan with Legolas before and his visit held many good memories with him. He remembered all the competitions he had with his friend, with some of them held in the city. Seeing Rohan was a definitely huge relief to him. With Legolas still draped over his back, Gimli sprinted forward without warning.

"Wait!" Kelsie yelled at the sudden movement. It had surprised her much, since Gimli had been solemn just seconds ago. But soon, she realized how joyful he was feeling, so she quickly recovered and ran after him.

She was glad to see that they were making much quicker progress running than walking. And it came with more excitement, too. She remembered how she would groan loudly enough for her friends to hear whenever the coach announced that they were running two miles in class. Now she enjoyed the thrill of speed, the wind rushing past her, almost lifting her off the ground. The best part was that it wasn't easy for her to get tired, unlike before. She had always been good at sprinting, even as a human, but eventually, she would wear out and collapse onto the grass. As an elf in Middle-Earth, she had increased speed, agility, and perseverance. To her, it was one of the best parts of being an elf.

As she was enjoying the freedom of running, she noticed that something was wrong. It didn't have anything to do with her running. She had seen something in the distance coming up towards her. She slowed down her pace a little and looked closer.

That was when Kelsie realized that she hadn't spotted Rohan at all. The sound of clopping hooves reached her ears, like the rumble of distant thunder. They sounded to her like...horses. She didn't remember Rohan being lifted and transported on horses. She looked closer and saw the riding figures atop the horses.

"Nevermind, it's not Rohan!" said Kelsie, embarrassed that her eyesight had failed her. But that wasn't the problem right now. What would she do once she reached the them?

Gimli groaned loudly and stopped. "Then what is it?"

Kelsie stopped next to him and said in a quieter, more serious tone. "They are the Rohirrim, the Riders of Rohan."

Gimli couldn't decide whether to use a disappointed tone or a aggressive tone. "So is that good or bad?"

Unsure how to answer, Kelsie tried to look thoughtful. "Well, it's either that they will help us, or they will kill us. I'm expecting the first one, since they knew you and Legolas well."

This still did not stop Gimli from glaring suspiciously at the nearing riders. "Either way, I'm keeping my ax out." He then remembered that he couldn't, because he was carrying Legolas.

Kelsie smacked her forehead. "No, you shouldn't!"

"What do you mean?" Gimli turned on her. "I thought you learned to always keep your guard."

"But you know the Rohirrim!" said Kelsie. She tried to sound reasonable, so that she wouldn't start an argument with the dwarf. She just hoped it would work. "If you don't want them to mistake you as their enemy, you could at least try to act friendly."

Just then, she realized that she had probably revealed too much of herself. Having lived most of her life in a world that didn't involve so much danger and suspicion, she had learned to always be kind and cheerful to her friends. But here in Middle-Earth, it was different. Even if you had met someone before and had become good friends with them, you still couldn't relax too easily. There could be a chance that the person you were looking at was actually evil in disguise. Kelsie gulped and attempted to change her way of thinking.

"Actually, you're right," she said hastily, drawing her bow out. "Weapons out!"

Gimli narrowed his eyes at her before turning back to the advancing Rohirrim. He was startled at the pace the Rohirrim had ridden in such a short time. Now he could see each of their faces clearly, as if they were right in front of him. He braced himself for whatever was coming.

Within a few seconds, the riders had surrounded the two of them in a full and well armed circle. The nearest row had their weapons out and ready in case a fight was to break out. Their leader, a tall, blonde man with blue eyes, eyed them suspiciously. "Who are you and what is your business here?" he demanded.

Kelsie tried to look brave, but in reality, she was beyond nervous. She didn't remember being captured by a group of armed riders before, and this first time experience was an intense one. She waited for Gimli to answer, but then realized that most eyes were on her. Probably because she looked like the leader of the group. She mentally shook her head to release that thought. _No, Legolas was supposed to be the leader, not me. I'm just a silly child who stumbled into this world for some reason._

"Well?" challenged the leader. "Are you going to tell us who you are, or will you just stand their and wait until our spears hit your head?"

Kelsie took a deep breath and thought over the words before she spoke. "This is Gimli the dwarf, and on his back is Legolas, who has been paralyzed by some evil force. We came here seeking help with hope that you'll be able to find a cure for him."

The leader made no sign of recognition. "And your name is?"

Kelsie wanted to smack her forehead. How did she even forget to introduce herself first? "Umm...I'm just known as Kelsie."

The leader finally called for the riders to lower their weapons. As the spears passed through Kelsie's gaze, she noticed how sharp they were. She shuddered to think of what would have happened if they were enemies, instead.

The riders formed a closed circle around the three of them, but this time, in riding formation. "You will need a horse," said the leader, even though it was quite obvious. Kelsie nodded, not daring to disagree. She would have to try her best to conceal the fact that she had never ridden a horse before.

She soon found herself face to face with a young horse with a white, brown-speckled coat. The horse whinnied softly as Kelsie hauled herself up, using the stirrups. She tried her best to act like she had done it many times before, but she couldn't help wobbling a bit as her foot almost slipped. When she had planted herself firmly on the horse's back, she let out a sigh of relief.

Soon, they were all ready to ride to Rohan. Gimli had taken his place behind the leader, and Legolas was being hoisted onto a horse by another man. Kelsie could hear the dwarf muttering something like "Could've done better with Arod" under his breath. Hoping that the leader didn't hear his remark, she urged her horse forward, along with the rest of the riders.

As they rode to Rohan, Kelsie found it surprising to see the leader talking to Gimli like old friends. He had been so suspicious and tense only moments ago. Kelsie strained her elf ears in the direction of their conversation, which was directly in front of her, and tried to listen.

"...paralyzed by the shadows," Gimli was saying. "We couldn't find any way to unfreeze him."

"Tell me more about the shadows," said the leader. "How did you discover them?"

"You'll have to ask Kelsie about that," answered Gimli. "She discovered them during night watch."

The leader said something to his men, and a gap wide enough to fit a horse in opened up right in front of her. Kelsie nervous rode forward to fill in the gap. Once she was in place, she waited for the leader to speak.

"Gimli here speaks greatly of your bravery and skill," he started. "He said that you discovered the shadows during night watch. Is that true?"

Kelsie nodded. "Yes, it is true."

"What do you know of the shadows, and how did you come across them?" he inquired, curiously.

She groaned inwardly, fearing the question. If there was one thing she was no good at, it was explanations. She tried to think of a nice speech before speaking, but the piercing gaze of the leader told her not to wait any longer.

"It started when I volunteered to take first watch. I saw a shadow zoom past me, so I decided to follow it. While chasing it, I saw more shadows fly past me. Soon, it started to get really cold, and it grew to the point where I could barely move, but I forced myself to keep on going. Then, I found myself in the middle of a small clearing with shadows floating all around me. I could barely move, since the cold was at a paralyzing point. That was when my sword slipped and the blade grazed a shadow that was just passing by...and the shadow just exploded!"

As soon as she said that, a few gasps of shock and mutters of disbelief spread around her like a wave. The leader, however, only gestured for Kelsie to continue.

"After seeing the shadow explode, I knew what I was supposed to do. I fought all the shadows that attacked me until everything was clear. By that time, I was exhausted, so I rested for a bit and ran back," Kelsie finished her story and waited for the reaction.

The leader looked at her with a new respect, now that she seemed to have proven herself a warrior in her story. He nodded and called out an order to his riders, then urged his horse to go faster. Kelsie did the same, though she almost fell off. She would have to get the hang of riding sooner or later if was to make it through this journey.

"We are nearing Rohan," the leader announced. He turned to a group of riders at the right. "Ride ahead and tell the king that we will be bringing some visitors."

The guards gave a quick salute and departed forward. Kelsie had to admire their efficiency and obedience. But that soon put another question in her mind. Wouldn't it be a bit harsh for guards to have to obey orders that quickly? She shook her head to get that question out of her mind. _Stop worrying, you fool! You're supposed to adapt to Middle-Earth and its ways quickly._

They continued riding to Rohan at the same pace for the next several minutes. Kelsie was just starting to feel comfortable on the horse when suddenly, the leader shouted another command. Upon hearing the command, all the horses speed up to a full gallop. Kelsie just had enough time to grab on to the horse's mane or she would've fallen off. She glanced to the side and saw that Gimli wasn't faring any better. He was frantically waving his arms around to keep himself from falling.

Then, Kelsie realized that if she didn't act fast, he probably would fall. She quickly reached out and grabbed Gimli's arm, while managing to stay on her own horse without falling. Gimli muttered a 'thanks', and continued to mutter about the torture of riding horses behind the leader's back. Kelsie just pretended to be perfectly comfortable with horseriding, even though she would have been glad to join in on complaining. She knew she was never going to be the best horse rider.

"We are arriving at Rohan!" called the leader. Kelsie snapped awake to see if it was true.

The riders were starting to get off their horses around her. As they did, Kelsie could clearly see the abundance of stables surrounding her. There were stable boys assisting them, welcoming them back from their trip. Horses were being led back into the stables which looked like they were already filled up. Yet, there was always room for more. Kelsie could see all kinds of horses - different colors and different sizes. As different as they were, each of them bore the same proudness as a horse of Rohan.

"What are you still doing up there, Kelsie?" called a gruff voice she knew to be Gimli's. "Get down here already!"

Caught up in the wonder of horses, Kelsie hadn't noticed that she was the only one still sitting on her horse. Quickly, she leapt off and allowed a stable boy to take her horse back to the stables. Just then, Gimli suddenly grabbed her arm. "Where is Legolas?"

Kelsie scanned the area for the elf. Though he should be easy to tell from the others, even when paralyzed, she couldn't see him anywhere. She tried again to search for him, but again, it proved unsuccessful_. Now that's was strange,_ she thought. _Where exactly is he?_ She turned back to Gimli and shook her head. "No sign of him. But we could ask - hey, wait up!"

Gimli was already storming into the crowd of riders, grumbling loudly and demanding for his friend. Kelsie ran after him, but was blocked by a rider who had ran in to yell at him. Gimli only retorted with a furious expression and some angry remarks. Kelsie smacked her forehead. She couldn't blame Gimli for being so concerned for Legolas. But still, there were limits to anger. And Gimli was the one capable of crossing those limits. She was about to yell for the dwarf to stop when another call intercepted her.

"Master Dwarf! I would suggest that you quiet yourself immediately before you send the horses running across town! In case you haven't noticed, your elf friend has been brought to the guest rooms so that no further harm comes to him. You should be thanking us for our help, not yelling your head off!" the leader said forcefully.

Gimli continued to glare, but didn't say anything. Not wanting any more disputes among the dwarf and their helpers, Kelsie decided to answer for him. "We are truly grateful for your help and hope that we wouldn't cause too much trouble in exchange for your generous services."

She had no idea were those words came from, but it seemed to calm everyone down. The leader turned to her after glaring at Gimli. "If there aren't any more disputes to settle, then King Eomer would like to see you right now."

_Wait, what?! I'm supposed to meet the king? _Kelsie knew she would eventually have to face the king sometime during her adventure, but she still felt unnerved. She had no practice talking to people of high status, not even the president. And now she was about to face a king?

That was when she noticed the funny stares she was receiving. Gimli was still clenching his fists, glaring at the leader, so there was no way he could answer. Not to mention the fact that she had developed a strange talent for leadership which she had never wanted to get. All it did was cause people to expect her to answer their questions like a _true _leader. Other than being able to lead her friends to certain destinations.

"We do not wish to keep his highness waiting any more than necessary," she answered in her most dignified voice.

The leader nodded and turned. "Good. Then, we shall proceed at once."

Kelsie signaled for Gimli to follow her, as she fell in line behind the leader. She stood tall and tried to look as confident as she could. But even though she _looked_ confident, she didn't _feel _confident. She really hoped that she wouldn't mess up too badly when speaking to royalty. After all, she was not the best at handling pressure.

As they walked up the stairs of the great building, she promised herself that she would do her best not to fail.


	9. Chapter 9: A Little Too Late

**Author's Notes:** It's been two chapters since I've written any notes, so I'm just going to write this first thing this chapter. Again, like always, thanks to those who have reviewed and enjoyed the story. I really hope you guys are able to stay until the end (cause who knows, there might be a sequel if I have a enough readers), and since I didn't really get a chance to specifically thank anyone so far, so I'll start now.

KiyaJinnSkywalkerKenobi and RoseRed21 - Thank you so much for staying with the story so far, I really appreciate your reviews and I hope you continue to review and enjoy!

ME - Thanks for coming in to review and also pointing out mistakes that I kind of forgot for a while!

NoirNightmare - Hey Hera! Nice to have you back here!(I don't know what else to say)

Yllems - That was a lot of good constructive criticism! I'll try to keep that in mind, since this is my first story and I'm probably not a professional writer yet, but thanks anyway!

Guests and other people who gave supportive comments - Your reviews are greatly appreciated! (although you should probably know that by now XD)

If I forgot anyone, please forgive me, it's kind of hard to remember all the names, especially when I'm so busy.

Okay, back to the story. Hope you enjoy and don't forget to review! Oh and one more thing since I'm feeling crazy today...HA! Longest A/N so far**!**

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><p><strong>Chapter 9: A Little Too Late<strong>

"Weapons need to be handed over before you enter," said a voice to the right.

Kelsie groaned silently. She had forgotten that she was not allowed to carry weapons in to see the king. Slowly, she handed over the sword in its scabbard. Then, she unstrapped her bow and handed it over. It was slightly painful to let go of these weapons, even though she knew they would be returned. These weapons were part of the reason she wasn't dead by now, and she had a tendency to feel unsafe without weapons.

"Your quiver, please, miss?" the guard spoke again, apparently noticing something she hadn't noticed.

Hands shaking slightly, she handed the quiver of arrows over. Now, she had no weapons to protect her. Not that she thought she actually needed to fight - she just preferred the company of her weapons. _Oh well, _she thought with a shrug. _Better focus on how to talk to the king, rather than worry about your silly weapons. _

She nervously glanced up at the large white building. It reminded her of the White House, where the president of USA lived, only this one was in Edoras, not the US, and it belonged to the king of Rohan. And she wasn't sure if kings held more power than presidents.

Kelsie heard some unwilling grumbling to her side, and she turned to see Gimli handing over his ax with a grumpy expression on his face. Like her, he was clearly not happy to part with his weapons either.

The guards led into the throne room, where King Eomer now sat in place of his uncle, King Théoden, who had died in battle. He watched as the elf and the dwarf entered, his gaze lingering on the elf a bit longer. Like always, Kelsie did not like getting attention, other than that of her friends. But now, she had to try her best to put up with it. As she neared the king, her nervousness only grew.

"I have heard that you have come here seeking help," began Eomer.

Kelsie nodded briskly. "Yes, help for our friend, who has been paralyzed by a...shadow." She did not know what else to say, so she just described it as a shadow.

Eomer resumed a thinking expression. "Tell me more about this shadow."

So, for the 'somethingth' time, Kelsie recounted what she had experienced during that night. She also added the story of how they found Legolas paralyzed and what they thought might have happened, with Gimli assisting her with the story. Although it was getting really boring having to tell the same story over and over again, she still forced herself to stand straight and tall, instead of using a bored tone. In addition to that, she also included the part with Treebeard being found frozen. Again, she left out the part about her second encounter with the shadows, since she didn't find it necessary at this moment.

After she was done, the king nodded slowly and thoughtfully, considering what he had just heard. Kelsie wasn't quite surprised at how he was able to remain calm, since he was a king. But the lack of reaction didn't not help with her nervousness(it was the best word to describe her in this situation).

"I see," he concluded. "So you've found a new threat that looms near."

Kelsie nodded again. "Y-Yes, that's right."

Finally seeming satisfied with her and Gimli's explanation, Eomer turned to his guards. "Give them shelter, and treat them as guests. See that they are brought food and drink. I will now discuss this upcoming threat with my guards."

Just as they were about to exit the building, one of the guards spoke up. "Your highness, I don't mean to disagree with you, but what if the elfling is lying?"

Kelsie gasped out loud. She knew that this would eventually come up in her journey, but she hadn't expected it to be this hurtful. He was accusing her of lying, right in front of the king! Without conscience, her hands curled into fists, and her eyes narrowed to slits. She took a step forward and opened her mouth to defend herself, but another voice cut right in.

"And what makes you think she's lying?"

Kelsie glanced to the side to see Gimli, fists bunched up, his face was contorted with rage. The dwarf was indeed very dangerous at this point, and usually, Kelsie would try to get him to calm down. However, she could not blame him for she did feel quite angry herself.

The guard's eyes narrowed aggressively at this outburst, but he continued with authority. "In my opinion, this pair should not be trusted easily. First of all, it is possible that they might have made up this fake threat to lure us into a trap. Second of all, we have never heard of a shadow that can paralyze, before, and there is no reason why we should, now. Third of all, what is an elfling doing in Rohan? Shouldn't she be in Mirkwood, doing whatever elves are supposed to do?"

She couldn't believe what she was hearing. Why was it so hard for that guard to just admit that she, or they, were telling the truth? And was he insulting her for being an elf? Before Gimli could respond, her anger reached the point which she could not take it anymore.

"Well first of all, what makes you think we made up this fake threat to lure you in a trap? Second of all, just because you haven't heard of a shadow that can paralyze doesn't mean you can't, now. Third of all, what am _I_ doing in Rohan? I'm trying to warn you of a new threat which you just won't believe in! And besides, this isn't the first an elf has been in Rohan. Also, we are not a pair, but a trio, and our third member _is_ the one paralyzed by the shadow!"

The words burst out of her mouth before she could stop them. Silence followed as they tried to piece together what she had just said. Next to her, Gimli muttered "Well said", but nobody paid any attention.

Kelsie looked up to see King Eomer, staring right at her, as though he was trying to read her mind to see if she was telling the truth. Her anger immediately faded to be replaced by unease. Maybe she had gone too far. Now what did he have in mind for her? She hoped that he was not angered by her outburst, and that he would be able to see the reason behind it. But the king's face showed little expression.

"Erm...your highness, I apologize for the outburst. I was just angered at being accused of lying," she added in a timid voice, trying to make it sound unbiased.

Finally, Eomer nodded understandingly. "I shall pay more heed to this new threat you talked about and consider this request. And Grimmund, I expect better behavior from you," he added to the guard, fixing a stern stare on him.

Grimmund nodded and bowed his head in respect. "Yes, Eomer King."

But even as they were dismissed and escorted to their rooms by servants, Kelsie could feel his eyes burning into the back of her head. She could sense flames of hate leaping in them, threatening to finish her. She could not understand why he hated her so much in such a short time. Was it because she had humiliated him in front of his king? But no, that didn't seem right. It was Grimmund who started the argument, not her. Maybe he just had a grudge against elves. But Kelsie could tell that wasn't exactly the reason.

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><p>Kelsie sneaked over to the room. She could hear low voices talking urgently. This was no easy matter - the life of Legolas depended in it. And by the sounds of it, they still hadn't found a cure for him.<p>

She sighed and trudged back to her room. For some reason, she felt more downcast than usual. It was not much of a surprise, since Legolas was still paralyzed, but what hurt her the most was the way Grimmund treated her. She still didn't quite understand why he hated her so much.

After several long minutes of sitting on the bed and staring at a wall, Kelsie finally stood up. Since she had a good amount of free time, she could try to find a book that might help. Even if it didn't help much, it was at least better than doing nothing.

Kelsie walked out of her room, remembering to leap over the pile of loose pieces of wood that lay near the doorway. She had hidden her sword and her bow under her bed - since it would look suspicious if she carried them around - but she kept her quiver of arrows, just to ensure safety.

She crept out and ran along the road. Although she did not mean to get attention, several people stopped to look at her. As she ran by, she caught the word 'elf' said by a child about her age. Groaning, she put her hood on to hide her ears. After her encounter with Grimmund, she could only conclude that the comments they said about her were negative.

Looking around, she could see many houses of similar shape and size. Near to them, she saw stores that sold different objects. She glanced while passing by a store that sold small weapons. Even though both the store and its weapons were not big, she could tell that the weapons were real, sharp ones.

Suddenly, her eyes fell on a cluster of buildings. It was somehow...different from the buildings around it. Different as in dangerous. As though it was trapped in a dark, cold globe. Though she was a good distance away from it, she could tell that there was something not right with it. Curiosity tugged at her to investigate, but she restrained herself. _One step at a time, _she thought.

Carefully, Kelsie jogged to the cluster of buildings. Fallen leaves crumbled beneath her feet, but she didn't care. The number of people along the streets became less and less as she ran. Soon, she knew, she would be alone in the dangerous place. That was, unless the people who lived there welcomed her. But it was soon getting obvious that there won't be much residents in that area.

The atmosphere started to change as she neared the cluster of buildings. It was no longer warm and safe. Instead, it reminded her of something evil that had ambushed her. The temperature had dropped low, and the air was getting chilly. The cold wind bit into her skin as she stepped into the village.

Fear grasped her as she walked through. For one, the silence was almost unbearable. Kelsie did not enjoy loud, crowded areas, but this silence was eerie. Only the howling of the wind could be heard by her elven ears, which were concealed under her hood. There were no voices, no sound of laughter to add to the cold atmosphere that controlled the village.

That was when Kelsie saw a cluster of people standing nearby. They were huddled together, their eyes wide with fear. A dark aura surrounded them, clearly reminding her of something she couldn't quite lay a finger on. Narrowing her eyes, she strode over to investigate.

After a moment of testing and waving her hands in front of their eyes, her fears were confirmed. She did not know why or how, but somehow, the shadow must have gotten its power over the small village. It had left these innocent people paralyzed without her knowing. And she still hadn't figured out a cure for it.

"Great!" she yelled to nothing in particular. "Thanks a lot, shadow! Now I have more work to do, and it's all because of you!"

Nothing answered her, and she wasn't surprised. Glancing back at the paralyzed people, she realized how foolish she had been. Every time she had to explain the shadow, she had always left out the second encounter. Now she finally realized why the shadow had rushed past her only once, instead of turning back to attack her. It had been waiting for this very moment, when it could paralyze anyone it wanted to. And she had left out the most important piece of information.

Blaming herself for everything, Kelsie walked past the paralyzed group. She noticed the way their eyes were glazed and unfocused. It reminded her of the eyes of the dead. She hunched over her shoulders and kept her head down. She was ashamed of herself for not being able to save them in time.

As she walked, her eyes glazed over an old, worn down building. Right above the door, she could just make out the word 'library', written faintly and distortedly. She immediately stopped in her tracks and edged over. Perhaps a library could be useful if she was looking for a cure...

Kelsie reached out her hand to turn the doorknob, but something stopped her. The chilling atmosphere that surrounded the building made her feel unwelcome. Even so, knowing that the whole village was under the shadow's cold spell made her reluctant. Now she desperately wished that she had someone with her, so she could at least lift a piece of the gloom.

Taking a deep breath, she turned the doorknob and tried to open the door. Due to the shadow's spell, it was frozen in place. She pulled harder and after a moment, the whole door was ripped off its hinges. She staggered back, the force of her pull now slamming back on her. For a few seconds, she just stood there staring at the door. Then, she entered with a shrug.

Kelsie scanned the old, fragile shelves for a good book that could help her. Unfortunately, none of the books could be considered good. They were all old and worn down, their pages missing and ripped. Some of the words weren't even readable anymore.

After several minutes of searching, Kelsie finally found a book that might be useful. She held it up to read the title - thankfully, it wasn't as blurry as some others. Deciding that the title, "_Forgotten evils", _may have something to do with the shadow, she opened the book and started to read.

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><p><strong>AN: **Hope you enjoyed it! Please review!


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